Take Two
by Maria1229
Summary: Spencer has a second chance with her unrequited high school crush. Can she make it work this time around? SpencerxAshley. CaseyxSally -OOC from Life With Derek-. AU
1. Chapter 1

_South of Nowhere_ is a property of The-N and Viacom. I'm not a crack monkey therefore I do not work for the writers of _South of Nowhere_. I just borrow their characters for my own pleasure.

**Author's Note:** This story is **completed** so the chapters will come very fast or when I remember to update. :D. My original characters are not that original. They're from the show _Life With Derek_. Their characterizations are mine but their names and faces belong to that show.

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_Chapter One_

Spencer pinched the bridge of her nose trying to fend off an oncoming headache. It seemed like the perfect way to end her not so perfect day, but then she realized that it was still only the afternoon. Spencer glanced at her watch and groaned when she saw the time. It was just a little past twelve, which meant she had at least another five hours before she could go home. _Maybe if I fainted, I'll be able to go home._ She quickly scratched that idea knowing that the cold concrete floor would hurt like hell if she pretended to collapse. Not that anyone would even notice. Spencer Carlin was having a bad day.

Being woken up by her grumpy neighbor, Mrs. Hegenboth, at four in the morning was an awesome way to start her day. She had complained that Spencer's radio was too loud and it was disturbing her birds. Mrs. Hegenboth didn't have birds, but Spencer humored her anyways. She apologized and turned off the "blaring noise." The only reason she had it on because she couldn't sleep the night before. Listening to music was the only way she could fall asleep, but the radio was barely above a decibel. Only dogs could hear it. _Frigging psycho. I didn't know I had Mr. Heckles for a neighbor._

On her way back to bed, Spencer stepped in a puddle of cat pee. Cursing out loud, she lost her footing and _landed_ in that puddle of pee. She had just gotten a new kitten and the little bugger wasn't quite sure where the litter box was so he peed and pooped wherever he pleased. It took Spencer a little over an hour to get cleaned up and by then, she couldn't go back to sleep. Figuring she'd start her day early, Spencer started to make her morning coffee only to find that was out of coffee.

Now she was in a cold warehouse, sleep-deprived, grumpy and was two seconds away from killing her best friend, Casey. Spencer watched as Casey yelled out orders to anyone who would listen and cringed at the volume of her voice. _How can anyone yell that loud without a megaphone?_

"Cut! Seriously you guys, this isn't rocket science. Take 5 and we'll re-shoot."

Spencer glared at her. She loved Casey with all her heart but they had been in this decrepit warehouse for hours filming a music video. They hadn't even taken a lunch break yet and Spencer was finding that lint covered mint in the bottom of her purse very appetizing with every passing minute.

"Seriously, Casey? 75 takes isn't enough?"

Casey looked up from her spot in her director's chair and gave her a sweet smile. "Stop being a drama queen, Spencer. It's the _73rd_ take."

_Drama queen? That little whore_. Spencer rolled her eyes and banged her head against the monitor she was leaning on. _Yeah, that's the greatest cure for my headache._ "That's going to be _so_ much fun editing. I swear to God, you do it just to piss me off."

Spencer had known Casey for six years and had a love/hate relationship with her. They had met their Freshmen year of college as roommates and bonded immediately over their shared love of film, both majoring in the same subject. When they graduated, Spencer and Casey decided to form their own little film production working with small things such as local commercials, low budget music videos, and the occasional indie movie. They got along great when they weren't working, but the minute the camera started rolling, Spencer and Casey butted heads like no other.

When their film production first started, they made an agreement that Casey would be behind the camera directing, and Spencer would be the one editing and putting things together. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Spencer soon found out that they had very different views on what made a good film or video.

Arguing over almost every decision the other made, Spencer suggested that they'd let the fates decide. The fates being a game of rock, paper, scissors. The system had been working for two years now. They had satisfied customers and a good chunk of change. The production company was named RoPaSci Film Productions to pay homage to their decision making game. Plus, Spencer liked explaining the random name to people who asked.

"Who the hell are these dumbasses anyways?" Spencer asked looking at the dailies that Casey shot. _Ha, that loser as toilet paper hanging from the back of his jeans._ She watched as the members of the band flailed around pretending to play their instruments and wondered who in their right minds would listen to this crap. _So this is what music is coming to today? God, I feel old._

"Who the hell knows? All I know is that they don't understand the concept of markers." Casey pointed something in the monitor. "See? Hence the 73 takes."

Spencer scratched her head in frustration. She prided herself on being able to edit almost any footage but this one proved to be difficult. The lead singer looked drunk in almost every single shot and was always out of the frame. _How hard is it to stand on a piece of tape? My cat could do it._ The shots looked almost impossible to edit together in any semblance of continuity. They either had to make it look like an acid trip or re-shoot the entire thing.

_Acid trip it is._ "Alright, I'm pretty sure I can edit all these but it's just going to take me my entire life. When's the deadline?"

Casey cringed before answering. "Friday."

_Friday? Did she say Friday? Oh, hell no._ Spencer could feel her head throb even harder than before. "Friday?! Case, that's in two days. I can't edit that fast. Plus, I still have that other project that's been burning a hole in my hard drive. Not to mention that I didn't even want to take this project considering all the other stuff we have booked." _Oh my God, so this is what an aneurysm feels like? I'm going to drop dead. Oh, I can go home if I do._

Casey grabbed a hold of Spencer's shoulders in attempt to calm her. "Spencer! Relax, we'll get it done, we always do." Spencer took a deep breath and tried to return her heart rate back to normal. "You okay, there?"

_No, I want to punch someone in the face._ "Yeah, I'm just really tired and really hungry. Where the hell is your slave with our food?"

Casey hit her playfully. "Stop calling her that! She's my girlfriend."

Spencer grinned. _Keep telling yourself that, Casey._ "Yeah, but Sally is so whipped she might has well be your slave. Didn't you get her a collar for her birthday?" This time, Casey really hit her hard. _Fuck! When the hell did she get so strong?_

"That was a necklace, you moron. And you know she hates it when you call her that?"

Spencer rubbed the spot on her arm where she was hit. _That's going to leave a bruise._ "Yeah, but torturing you two is how I get through my days." She gave Casey a kiss on the cheek before plopping down in the director's chair and laughed at her not so amused face.

"Bitch, who's name in on this?"

Turning around, Spencer read the name that was embroidered on the back of the chair. "K.C. McDindle."

"What?!" Casey grabbed the chair and spun it around, knocking Spencer right off it in the process. "Those bastards. I spent a hundred dollars to get my name on this. It's Casey McDonald!"

_Yeah, a hundred dollars we could've used to spend on upgrading our computer software._ Spencer rolled her eyes as she watched Casey storm off with a cell phone attached to her ear. _I feel sorry for whoever is about to go deaf_.

"Lunch is served!" A voice called from behind Spencer.

She turned around and saw a girl carrying a bag of take out in one hand and a guitar case in the other. _Yay, slave girl!_ "Finally!" Spencer walked up to Sally and grabbed the bag. "You're late, slave."

Sally narrowed her eyes at her. "Hello to you too, Spencer." Spencer just gave her a cheeky smile before heading off to the table that was in the corner of the warehouse.

"Baby!" _Oh, God._ Casey finished her phone call and ran into her girlfriend's arms. She greeted her with a kiss and threw a dirty look over to Spencer. "Way to say hi to Sally, Spencer."

Spencer flipped them the bird. _Please don't start making out, I'm about to eat._

"What crawled up her ass?" Sally asked putting her guitar case down to give her girlfriend a proper hug.

Casey shrugged. "You know, the usual."

"Ah, the dry spell."

_Oh my God, I'm right here. Can they not see me?_ "Guys, if you're going to start your whole 'Spencer needs to get laid before she dries up like the Sahara' speech, can you do it when I'm not in earshot or when I'm not eating?" She threw a balled napkin in their direction but missed completely.

"Sorry, Spence." They dropped the subject and proceeded to make out.

_Ew, I'm eating!_ Spencer gagged and turned away. She's known Sally as long as Casey. It was kind of hard to be friends with Casey without being friends with her other half. They have been together since they were fifteen and were pretty much inseparable. Spencer saw Sally almost every day during their college years. Sally focused on her music instead of attending college.

They were her best friends but there was only so much Spencer could take. Casey and Sally's PDA was sickening. It wasn't a pleasant feeling to be constantly reminded of how alone you were.

Spencer even went on every date that Casey and Sally set her up on. They claimed she was too picky. _I'm not picky. It's not my fault all those girls were either too clingy, too detached, too shy, too eccentric….Okay, I am picky._ Casey and Sally started to call her Goldie Locks and all her dates were the three bears. Spencer was still looking for the one that was "just right" but in the meantime, she had to endure watching her friends be all coupley.

_Do they even stop to breathe?_ Spencer fought another gag reflex as she watched Casey and Sally eat each other's faces. "Um, Casey?" No response but more sucking of face. _Jesus, do I need to get a crowbar?_ "Casey!"

Casey and Sally pulled apart flushed and dazed. "Sorry, Spence, what's up?" She unconsciously wiped her mouth as Sally continued to kiss her neck.

Spencer made a disgusted look. "Um, that five minute break you called ended fifteen minutes ago. We need to get a move on, I have places to be." _And by places, I mean my bed taking a four-hour nap._

"Yeah, I actually have to go," Sally said looking at her watch. "I have to meet my friend at the park and I'm late." She gave Casey a peck on the lips and Spencer one on the cheek. "See you guys later." She grabbed her guitar case and ran out of the warehouse.

"She always has to meet her friend at the park," Casey said once Sally left.

_Uh oh, here comes jealous Casey._ "Yeah, um, what's her name again?" Spencer asked as they made their way back to the set.

"Tracey." Casey called everyone back to work and sat down in her chair.

"Tracey?" Spencer bit her bottom lip trying not to laugh. "Yesterday, her name was Courtney." She looked over at Casey who had taken a keen interest in the monitor in front of her. "And last week, it was Lindsay." No response. _And I thought I was childish._ "You know, one of these days you're going have to pay attention when Sally talks about her music."

"I do listen!" Casey stated defensively. "But all she talks about is how awesome and talented and funny and witty this girl is. I'd rather not hear about it." She huffed and put headphones on to listen to the video playback.

"You're jealous," Spencer sing-songed. "Casey, you're being irrational. Remember when you first met me? Sally was all kinds of jealous because you had someone you can finally talk about film with. Well, now Sally has found someone she can talk about her music."

"Whatever." She focused her attention at her task at hand. "Playback! And action!"

_Aw, Ms. Little Pouty Face_. "It's not like you take interest." Casey continued to ignore her. "Fine, be a petulant child. You know I'm right."

"I bet you she's hot."

"How would you know?"

"She's a musician! Girls with guitars are hot. Look at Sally."

"You're ridiculous." Spencer shook her head and watched the horrible band begin to play. The guitarist was a girl and she was in fact, hot. Spencer couldn't help but let her mind wander as she thought about another girl who played the guitar, but quickly shook those thoughts out of her head. "Okay, if it'll wipe that pout off your face, I promise I'll hit on mystery guitar girl so she'll stay away from your woman."

Casey looked over at her and smiled. "You do that for me?"

_Yes, and plus I really do need to get laid._ "This assuming she's even plays for our team."

"You're the best."

_Damn, right I am. Now, I wonder how hot this girl is._

_---  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

Editing film wasn't exactly difficult. It's not that hard to put snippets of footage together to form one cohesive segment. At least that's how Spencer felt. Editing came naturally to her and she was one hell of an editor. What did prove to be difficult was having someone hover over you the past two hours telling you what to do with no words.

She was currently in the studio her and Casey had bought for their film production. It wasn't much but it gave them a place to work. It only had two rooms; the front room where they took their calls and clients. And there was the back room where Spencer and Casey did all the editing and production.

Spencer ignored the constant sighs and huffs that was coming from behind her shoulder and continued to click away at her computer. She would've have been finished over an hour ago if _someone_ would leave her alone. But alas, Casey refused to leave her side. She didn't exactly say anything to Spencer but her presence was a tad bit annoying.

"I don't think that clip should be there," Casey finally said.

_Of course you don't_. Spencer ignored her and continued to work. _Five, four, three…._

"Spencer, did you hear me?"

"Yes, Casey I heard you, but doesn't mean I actually listened to you." Spencer gritted her teeth and moved the mouse around vigorously.

"Spence…"

"Casey!" Spencer spun around in her spinning chair and glared at her friend. "What did we say about my editing time?" She asked like she was talking to a child who had just gotten herself in trouble.

Casey pouted and looked down. "That it's your special time and that I should leave you the hell alone."

"Yes, now leave me the hell alone." Spencer pulled herself back to her desk and went back to work.

"But I really think that clip shouldn't be there. It looks completely random with the one before it. Here." Casey pushed Spencer's chair out of the way and rolled her own chair in front of the monitor.

_Did she just push me out of the way?_ "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She watched on in horror as Casey clicked and typed away. "Casey!" she whined.

"There, see? That's _so_ much better." She backed away from the computer and smiled triumphantly. Spencer wheeled her chair back and looked at the damage Casey caused.

"That sucks." She clicked the undo button and returned it back to its previous state.

"Spencer!"

"Casey!"

Spencer sighed and held out her closed fist and Casey followed suit. They both shook their fists three times and on the fourth shake, they revealed their choices.

"Ha! Rock beat scissors!" Casey stated victoriously, and changed it back to the way she wanted.

_Damnit, why do I always go with scissors first?_ "Fine, you win. Can you leave me alone now so I can actually get this done by our deadline?"

"No, I'm bored and I have nothing else to do but to bother you." She leaned back in her chair and started to spin it around.

"Don't you have somewhere to be or someone to do? Where is slave girl anyways?" Spencer took a sip from her can of Coke and cringed when she tasted warm liquid.

"Where else? She's busking with Buffy down at the Diag," she said with a scowl.

_Buffy? That's a new one._ "Why do you hate her so much? Is it because she's taking away from your Sally loving time?" Spencer smirked. She enjoyed teasing Casey to no end especially with something as stupid as the subject at hand. Sally worshipped the ground Casey walked on and would probably give up her hands than to ever cheat on her.

"No! Just because I don't know the difference between Chrissie Hynde and Karen Carpenter, doesn't mean she should go find someone who does."

_Chrissie who?_ "Casey, that made absolutely no sense. She didn't find someone to talk about music with. She has another friend." She looked away from the computer and gave Casey a look. "You do allow her to have other friends right? Isn't that part of your slave/master clause?"

Casey kicked Spencer's chair. "Funny. You better keep your promise about hitting on guitar girl. I know I'm being irrational but it will help me sleep at night. Plus, this will save me the trouble in trying to find someone else to hook you up with. I still don't know why you're so picky, I mean all those girls-"

"Oh my God, shut up. I already agreed to hit on Buffy, and it's not my fault that none of those girls were my type."

Casey rolled her chair next to Spencer and spun her around to face her. "And what, Ms. Carlin, is exactly your type?"

_Brown hair, brown eyes, a smile to die for, good with her hands (from playing the guitar). Stop it, Spencer._ "I don't know, but not those bimbos you set me up with."

Casey was about to open her mouth to protest but was caught off by the phone ringing from the front desk. "Be right back, don't think this conversation is over." She got up and ran to the front room and answered the phone.

"If it's my mom, tell her I've fallen into a coma." She loved her mom but she called Spencer nonstop just to make sure Spencer was taking of herself and if she found a suitable girl yet.

"RoPaSci Film Productions, this is Casey, how may I help you?" Spencer rolled her eyes as Casey's phone greeting. Whenever she answered the phone, she just said the production name with a monotone voice. "Oh hi, Lydia."

At the mention of that name, Spencer rolled her chair towards the door and tried to get Casey's attention. She animatedly mouthed "no" and waved her hands around frantically.

"Spencer? Yeah, she's right here. Hold on." Casey smirked and handed the phone to Spencer.

"You're a bitch." Spencer grabbed the phone from her and took the call in the front room. "And don't you dare touch that computer." Casey held up her hands in defense and sat back down.

Spencer took a deep breath before bringing the phone to her ear. "Hey Lydia…no you're not bothering me…oh sorry, I left my cell phone in the car." _Car, back pocket, same difference. _"Yeah, I had a great time last week, too." She made the mistake of turning around to check on Casey because all she was doing was making lewd gestures with her fingers. Spencer threw a pen at her. "Dinner tonight?….I'm actually working tonight, you know deadlines….Tomorrow? Um, Casey and I have a night shoot….sorry…some other time then…okay, bye." Spencer hung up and pinched the bridge of her nose. _I'm an excellent liar._

"So what's wrong with this one?" Casey asked.

"Nothing." Spencer pushed pass her and went back to her computer.

"Yeah, right. Is it because she's really tall? Because that's a really stupid reason not to date someone."

"She's like 7 feet!" Spencer exclaimed. "I don't know if I should date her or climb her." Casey laughed at the mental image of Spencer trying to climb a girl. "Oh, shut up. I looked like a dwarf compared to her."

"Alright Chandler Bing. Seriously Spence, you really need to stop being so picky. You're 24, you ain't getting any younger."

_24 is young!_ "Just because I didn't meet the love my life at the age of 15, doesn't mean I'm destined to be alone. There's someone out there for me. In fact," she pointed towards the front room. "she can walk through that door any moment."

The second Spencer said that, they heard the front door open. "Casey!" Sally called.

Spencer groaned and put head on her desk. "Here I'm talking about the love of my life, and in walks yours." Casey smiled and went in the front room to greet her girlfriend. Spencer shut the door behind her. She really didn't feel like watching another round of Casey and Sally's tongue battles. She cringed at the thought and went back to work. _It has been now 3 hours and I'm still not done with this damn thing. I need to get a new partner._

She hadn't even been working five minutes when Casey called out to her.

"Hey Goldie Locks! There someone here you should meet."

Spencer rolled her eyes but refused to move. "I already met Sally, thank you very much."

"Not Sally, dumbass! Her _friend_."

_Shit, Buffy's here? I can't hit on anyone looking like this._ Spencer got up and tried to straightened out her clothes. She wasn't exactly dressed to impress, wearing only a pair of faded jeans and old t-shirt that said "IDAHO? NO, U DAH HO!" Not the greatest way to impress a potential hottie, but it's not like she had a change of clothes.

Spencer ran a hand through her hair. _Ew, must take a shower when I get home. Hope Buffy doesn't mind the messy look._ She grabbed a mint from the bowl they kept in the studio and popped it in her mouth. Finally convinced that she looked somewhat presentable, Spencer pushed the door open and walk up to the front room where she saw Casey, Sally, and mystery girl waiting.

"God, took you long enough." Casey chastised.

Spencer's retort died on her tongue when she finally saw mystery girl. It was like she was thrown in a time warp. She looked at the face she hadn't seen in 6 years but it only felt like yesterday she last saw her.

Brown hair, brown eyes, a smile to die for, and holding a guitar case in her hand.

"Spencer, I'd like you to meet-"

"Ashley." The name rolled off Spencer's tongue like it was trying to escape for the longest time. If she was paying attention, Spencer would've have noticed the confused looks Casey and Sally were giving her. But all her attention was focused on the only girl who made her heart skip a beat.

Ashley looked from Sally to Spencer. Her eyebrows furrowed as she shifted from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry," she started sincerely. "But do I know you?"

---


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Vocal paralysis wasn't something Spencer thought she'd ever experience but there was a first for everything. She swallowed hoping that would help but it only left her in a coughing fit. Three pairs of eyes looked at her concerned as Casey approached her and started patting her back.

"Are you okay, Spence?"

Spencer didn't hear her. She was too busy trying not to die of embarrassment when she looked at Ashley's face of concern.

_This is your fault! God, I need water or a gun or something!_ Spencer's coughing finally subsided and she took a huge gulp. Her face was red from coughing and embarrassment and her eyes were watering.

Casey looked at her with wide eyes. "You okay?"

Spencer nodded and tried to avoid the stares coming from everyone in the room especially the one coming from Ashley.

"Yeah, I'm good," she croaked. "Just something stuck in my throat."

"Thank God, I thought we needed to call a doctor," Sally said. "Anyways, how do you know Ashley?"

"Yeah, how _do_ you know Ashley?" Casey reiterated and Spencer wanted to kill her. Ashley just stood there somewhat uncomfortable but just as confused.

_Of course she doesn't remember me. Spencer, you're a dumbass._. "Ash-ashley Davies, we went to-to, um, King High. Cla-class of '02." _Oh my God! Stop stuttering. What the hell? You haven't stuttered since…Fuck!_

Ashley nodded her head in realization but Spencer could tell that she still couldn't remember. "Yeah, right. King High." She tried to sound like she genuinely remembered but Spencer saw right through it.

"You-you don't remember me." _Wow, Spencer, can you __**be**__ anymore pathetic?_

"No, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "It was a big class you know, and I spent most of time skipping school than attending it." Ashley gave her a smile and Spencer's heart started pounding like a sledgehammer.

Spencer took a deep breath thinking of what she wanted to say next so she could stop stuttering. She glanced over at Casey and Sally who looked like they were watching a show on stage. She could only imagine what was going through their heads. They've never seen her act like this and Spencer knew once Casey got her alone, she was going to get interrogated.

"Yeah, we didn't have that many classes together." _We had five since Freshmen year, but who's counting._

"Wow, what a small world," Sally said interrupting the very awkward reunion. "But Ashley and I actually have a little announcement we wanted to share with you guys." This got Casey's attention, who didn't look very happy.

Spencer kept her eyes on Ashley. She still looked the same but with subtle differences. Her hair was still the same with the absence of the red strip she had back in high school. She dressed a little more conservatively but still sexy. And she still wore that guitar pick necklace. Spencer guessed she wore it more for sentimental value than fashion.

She was still the same girl Spencer fell for. The same girl that made school just that much bearable for her. The same girl who, with just a smile, made all her days bright. The same girls who still didn't know how she felt because she was too scared to admit it to her. And the same girl who still didn't know who she was. She was stepping back to her infamous unrequited love story she began when she was 15 but never got a chance to finish.

"…so we decided to start a little band. Or a duo to be technical," Sally finished.

_Shit, what the fuck was she talking about? Damn you, Ashley Davies and your ability to make me lose focus._

"You're going to start a what?" Casey was not pleased with this news.

"You know, a duo. There's a million chick duos out there. Like Tegan and Sara, Meg and Dia, Jess and Lisa, Michelle and Jessica," Ashley said jokingly trying to ease the tension. Spencer smiled at her efforts but knowing Casey's already irrational hatred towards her, she knew something was about to go down.

"Yeah, I know what a duo is, thank you very much. But why would you want to start one?" Casey's blue eyes blazed. She was pissed. Ashley cleared her throat and took a step back.

"Why not?" Sally's voice matched her girlfriend's. "You know how long I've wanted to do this. Ever since you've known me. Why are you being so unsupportive?"

_Yeah, guys, not the time to have this in front of my high school crush. I'm already embarrassed enough._

"And how exactly are you going to go about this? You don't have any money," Casey voice started to rise.

_Oh God, please don't start screaming. Ashley is probably not use to your banshee like screams._

"Thank you very much for reminding me, Casey. What am I your kept woman now?"

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Oh sure, you just love reminding me how I live in _your_ apartment, eat _your_ food, wear clothes _you_ paid for. And now I actually want to do something for myself and you can't handle it!"

Spencer scratched her head. She was used to their fights, they were legendary but Ashley just met Casey and was probably all kinds of uncomfortable.

"Um, guys?"

"What?!" Casey and Sally said at the same time.

She glared at her two friends. "We have a guest, so why don't you take your little argument elsewhere?" She stage whispered all this but knew it was pathetic considering Ashley was only a few feet away. She looked like she was ready to leave.

Sally turned to Ashley with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ashley, can you excuse us for a second." She grabbed Casey's hand and pulled her into the back room and shut the door. They started to argue again but their shouts were muffled through the door.

Spencer shifted from one foot to another. She was now alone with Ashley and had no idea what to say. "Sorry about that," she started.

"Oh, don't worry about it. My parents fought like that all the time but they still loved each other." She gave her a reassuring smile. "But I have a feeling that your friend doesn't really like me."

_I do! Does that count?_ "Casey's a sweetheart. She's just worried about Sally."

Ashley nodded. "Look, I feel really bad that I don't remember you, but to be honest, I barely remember anyone from high school. If it weren't for my sister, I'd probably wouldn't even know who took me to prom." Ashley furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip. "Wait, I didn't even go to prom."

Spencer laughed at the face she made. _Oh yeah, she has a sister. She was nice to me. One of the few who were. What was her name?_ "How is Kyla?"

Ashley looked at her surprised. "You know Kyla?" She suddenly hit her forehead. "Right, we went to the same high school, duh. She's doing good. She actually still lives here. She's an actress now."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, but nothing big. She's been in a few indie movies but that's it."

Spencer's ears perked up. "Indie? We do a few of those."

"Right, Sally said you and Casey own a big film production." Ashley looked around and picked up a business card that was on the front desk. "RoPaSci Film Productions?"

Spencer blushed. She usually liked explaining the name but was now embarrassed just realizing how silly the name sounded. Or maybe because she had to explain it to Ashley Davies.

"Yeah, it's kind of an inside joke."

Ashley smiled at her again. "What does it stand for?"

Spencer also picked up a business card and stared at the name. There was a little cute insignia on it of two little fists facing each other. "Casey and I have a hard time deciding on certain things, so I suggested we'd play a game of rock, paper, scissors to help us with our decisions. It seemed to work so we named our production after it. RoPaSci, rock, paper, scissors. It's stupid, I know-"

"No, it's very clever." Ashley put the business card in her back pocket and Spencer had to stop herself from staring at how hot those jeans looked on her. "Maybe you can think of the name of me and Sally's first album." Spencer blushed again and looked at the floor. "That is if we're actually going to be able to. It doesn't sound too good in there." She indicated towards the back room where muffled shouts were still heard.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to. Casey wouldn't keep Sally from her dreams. She loves her too much."

"That's sweet." _So is your smile._ "So what about you?" Ashley suddenly asked.

_What?_ "What about me?"

"Well, Sally has Casey. Do you have anyone special?" Ashley eyes seem to roam all over her.

_Is she checking me out? Is Ashley Davies hitting on me?!_ "Um, I-I, well, not-not really." _Yeah, keep stuttering, you idiot. That will for sure win her over._

Before Ashley could respond, the back door opened and Casey and Sally came out looking very flushed but not at all angry.

"Sorry about that," Sally said to Ashley.

"Oh no worries, I was in good company." Her eyes never left Spencer which made Spencer blush harder.

_Wow, I probably look a tomato right now. A tomato with blonde hair. Ha, now that's attractive._

"I'm sure you were," Casey said suggestively, walking up to Spencer. Spencer elbowed her.

"Why don't the four us all go out to dinner?" Sally said. "We can discuss the whole album thing and the prospect of the two of you filming our EPK."

"Actually, Casey and I have to work. We have a deadline," Spencer suddenly said.

Casey looked at her confused. "We're almost done, we can finish it afterwards." She started to speak to Spencer with her eyes. They have perfected communication without words over their 6 years of friendship. What she really said was: "What's wrong with you? You said you'll hit on guitar girl."

"Yeah, but I really want to get it done so we don't have to worry about it anymore. You three go ahead." Before anyone could protest, Spencer made her way to the back room without even a goodbye to Sally or Ashley.

"Excuse me for a second," she heard Casey say.

_Oh great, here we go._ She heard the door close before Casey took her arm and spun her around.

"What's wrong with you?"

Spencer shook off her grasp. "Nothing."

"Oh really? Because I've known you for 6 years and I've _never_ heard you stutter before. It was like a whole new Spencer out there. What's with this Ashley girl? You knew her back in high school?"

"Nothing is up, okay?" Spencer looked at the ground avoiding her gaze. She knew it would give her away.

"Spencer," Casey said seriously. "What's going on?"

Spencer took a deep breath and looked Casey in the eyes. "Ashley's just someone from my past, okay?"

"Was she an ex, because she said she didn't remember you?"

"No, she wasn't an ex, she's just…Casey, can you let it go for now? I'm really tired and I should really get this done." She sat down in front of the computer and shook the mouse.

"Okay, but I'm worried about you. I've never seen you get this worked up over a girl before."

"I'll be fine. Go to dinner, and get to know Ashley." _She's amazing._

"Okay, but I'll be thinking about you." Casey gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek before she left.

_Yeah, and I'll be thinking about Ashley._

---


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

It seemed like for every project Spencer completed, three more would fall into her lap. Not that she was complaining. More projects meant more clients, more clients meant more money, and more money meant Spencer could actually pay for her rent at the end of the month. Unfortunately, more projects also meant that she had to work more. More work meant less time to do anything else.

_All work and no play makes Spencer very horny._

Spencer sighed as looked over the work calendar. Casey was currently at a shoot with their crew so Spencer was at the studio answering the phones and booking projects. It was hard to concentrate considering all she could think about was Ashley. Casey didn't call her after the dinner she had with Sally and Ashley and she was dying of curiosity.

_What could she have possibly said about me? She doesn't even remember who I am._

Although it shouldn't, the thought of Ashley not remembering Spencer hurt her. It wasn't like Ashley ignored her or was mean to her during high school. She just didn't know Spencer. But Spencer wish she did, because she felt like she knew Ashley.

Spencer saw the side of Ashley that no one else saw. While everyone saw the Ashley Davies who was the popular rebel without a cause, Spencer saw the Ashley Davies who sat under an oak tree and strummed her guitar.

There was a courtyard at King High that no one went to except for Spencer. Instead of dealing with the jerks who would constantly tease her, Spencer decided that she never wanted to eat in the quad or the cafeteria. So she sat in the courtyard away from everyone. It seemed pathetic but she didn't have friends. No one wanted to be associated with the film geek, not even the people in her film class. She didn't blame them though because she wasn't exactly a social butterfly. Being social required talking and that was one thing Spencer hated doing. She had a terrible stuttering problem and it would always take her forever to get a sentence out. And because high school kids are asses, everyone made fun of her for it.

Spencer spent all her time that she wasn't in class in that courtyard. It's where she first saw Ashley.

After one crappy Friday morning, Spencer couldn't wait to sit in the courtyard and eat her lunch. Just her, a turkey sandwich, her Orange Crush, and whatever dessert her mother packed her. She was just about to take a bite of her sandwich when a girl, carrying a guitar case, sat herself down by an oak tree a few feet across from Spencer. She was possibly the most beautiful girl Spencer ever saw. Brown hair and brown eyes. The girl looked up from her guitar and spotted Spencer watching her. She offered a smile and began strumming. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a smile to die for.

Spencer was suddenly thrown into all those cliched drama movies she'd seen a thousand times. She was speechless and utterly in lust with mystery guitar girl. The girl looked up again and Spencer's heart started to race.

"Do you have any requests?" Her voice was soft and raspy and it went right through Spencer.

Spencer shook her head and looked down. She felt embarrassed that she was caught staring especially since she probably looked like some perverse stalker.

"You sure? I know quite a few songs" The girl smiled again as she continued to strum a continuous melody.

"I-I don't kno-know that ma-many so-songs." Spencer took a deep breath and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She hated that she stuttered. It made her feel like a fool.

The girl didn't seem to notice and just played her guitar. "You have to know this one," she started to strum a song that sounded familiar to Spencer. "Dream, dream, dream, dream. When I want you in my arms, when I want you and all your charms. Whenever I want you all I have to do is dream. Dream, dream, dream..."

Spencer was completely enthralled. If her speaking voice was die for, her singing voice would've have brought her back to life.

"Ashley! What the hell are you doing down there? Come on!" Spencer turned her head to the sound of the voice and frowned. It was one of the jerks who constantly teased her and he just happened to be friends with her guitar girl.

Ashley put her guitar back in its case, stood up, gave Spencer a little smile, and then left to join her friends.

She was already gone before Spencer could return the smile.

"Ashley," she said trying the name out loud without stuttering. "It was nice to you meet you."

The sound of a ringing phone jarred Spencer back to the present.

"RoPaSci Film productions?...No, we do not do porn." Spencer rolled her eyes. Her and Casey got calls like these at least once a month. "You sent us a fax?" She turned around to check their fax machine where a new fax was just coming through. Spencer ripped it from the dispenser and stared at the contents in disgust. "No, sir. We are not a porno production and _this_ does not interest us." She hung up the phone and continued to leer at the fax. There was a picture of a girl and a guy engaged in what looked like a sex act, but Spencer wasn't quite sure. She flipped the page around to try to get a better look only to be disgusted more. "Who in their right minds think porn is hot?" she thought out loud. "And ew, straight porn."

"I don't know, it's kind of hot." Spencer jumped about three feet in the air. She turned around and caught the sight of a smiling Ashley holding her guitar case. And she was dripping wet.

"You-you scared me." Spencer put a hand to heart trying to calm herself. _Stop stuttering!_ "You're all wet," she stated looking Ashley up and down.

Ashley grinned. "Yeah, I am."

Spencer's face flared. _Shit, I did not mean that to be sexual._ "It's pouring out there?" She was too caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even noticed that there was a storm raging right outside.

"Yeah." Ashley shook her head and let some of the water drip out of her hair. It reminded Spencer of her little kitten when she accidentally spilled water on him and he shook it out. It was adorable. "You wouldn't happen to have a towel around here would you?"

Spencer quickly dropped the fax and went to look around. "Uh, yeah I do. I left my beach towel here from like a year ago and never remembered to bring it home." She retrieved the towel and handed it to Ashley. Ashley wasn't paying attention because she had picked up the discarded fax and started to look at it.

"Um, that's an interesting position." Spencer blushed. She snatched it away and gave her the towel. "Thanks." Ashley ran it through her hair making her curls all messy. "So, what's this I hear about a porn production?" Ashley teased handing Spencer back the towel.

Spencer contemplated never washing that towel again but quickly discarded it under the desk. "Yeah, people think since two lesbians own this film production, we automatically do porn."

"That's ridiculous," Ashley laughed and Spencer melted a little more inside.

"Um, not that I mind, but what are you doing here?" _You know besides making me fall even more in love with you._

"Sally wanted to meet me here. We're going to talk about the album more and then she wanted to discuss more about that EPK. We talked about it with Casey at dinner the other night."

"Oh." _Oh? God, I'm pathetic._

"So I was trying to find my old yearbook yesterday to see if I could jog my memory."

_Oh, God. Now she's going to remember what I looked liked in high school. Oh God, oh God, oh God._

"But all my high school shit is back at my parents' house." _Phew_. "I just feel so bad that I don't remember you, because believe me if I knew you back then-"

She was caught off by the phone ringing again. _If you knew me back then what?!_

"One second," she picked up the phone. "RoPaSci Film Productions?" Spencer turned away from Ashley when she heard who was on the other line. "Hi mom...no mom I don't have an umbrella...I didn't check the weather...Mom!...Fine, I'll find a hat...Mom, you do know that this is the company phone?...I do too answer my cell phone!...okay, I'll see you Sunday...love you, too." She hung up and turned back around. Ashley had an amused but, oh so cute, look on he face. "That was um, my mom." She finished lamely. _And I'm a freak._

"That's sweet she checks up on you," she smiled. "My mom does the same thing so I won't hold this against you."

_Can she be any cuter?_ "Thanks, um you were saying?" _Yeah, that part about if you knew me back then?_

"Jesus! It's pouring like crazy out there!"

Spencer sent a death glare over to Sally who had just walked in dripping as well.

"Sally! You're getting my floor wet."

"Oh I'm sorry, Spencer, let me dry myself off in the rain," she sniped and turned to Ashley. "Sorry I'm late, let's get to work." She made her way to the back room with Ashley following her.

"I'll talk to you later?" Ashley asked hopefully.

Spencer smiled. "Yeah, later."

---


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

Spencer abandoned all hope in trying to get anything done. All the projects she booked were piling up and she should have been logging them all in the work calendar. Casey had always been the more organized one between the two of them and she never really trusted her with the calendar because she always did something "wrong." At this moment, Spencer actually agreed with her considering she was too busy listening to the sounds of guitars being played and harmonies being sung from the back room instead of working. Sally and Ashley had taken the liberty in turning the room into a rehearsal place.

For the past hour, all she could hear was the beautiful voice of Ashley. Even though Sally was singing with her and their voices blended in perfect harmony, Spencer could distinctly pick out Ashley's. For four years she's listened to that voice and it was permanently ingrained in her memory. Her mind wandered back to times of sitting in that courtyard and just listening to Ashley. Every Friday, Ashley would come to the courtyard, sit under that oak tree, and play her guitar. And every Friday, Spencer would forget to eat her lunch because she was too busy listening to her.

Ashley never ignored her but mostly minded her own business. Spencer tried her hardest not to stare but it was damn near impossible.

"Is my playing bothering you?" Ashley asked during one of those Fridays.

Spencer quickly averted her gaze. She never knew when she was staring. "No-no, you're not bo-bothering me." She focused her attention back to her uneaten lunch.

"Well, if I am, just tell me to shut the hell up," she said jokingly.

_Never_. She nodded and tried to eat her sandwich. Ashley continued to play and Spencer continued to listen. _Oh hell, I can eat later._

Spencer had the tendency to go catatonic when she was listening to Ashley and it was in this state of catatonia that Casey found her.

"Spence? Hello?" Casey waved her hand in front of Spencer's glazed eyes.

Spencer blinked rapidly now just realizing that Casey had just come back from her video shoot. "Hey Casey, when did you get back?" She straightened a few things on the desk avoiding eye contact. She knew that Casey saw her staring wistfully at the back door. _God, I hope I wasn't drooling._ She wiped her mouth just in case.

"Like five minutes ago. I've been trying to get your attention the last three."

"Sorry, so how did the shoot go?"

Casey took off her coat and tossed it behind the desk. "Long and tiring. And who's idea was it to do an outdoor shoot when it's pouring outside?"

Spencer picked up the coat and properly hung it on their coat rack. "Yours. You should've checked the weather before going out today. You didn't get any of the equipment wet, did you?" _God, when did I start sounding like my mother?_

"Seriously Spencer, you're lecturing me about our camera equipment?" She narrowed her eyes at Spencer daring her to say something.

"Sorry, sorry," she said holding her hands up in defense. "It's our damn P.A.s that suck. Which reminds me, we have to fire Manny."

"What? No, we don't."

Spencer gave her a pointed look. "You seriously don't want me to fire someone who thought that the boom was a feather duster?" She almost had a heart attack when she saw the expensive piece of equipment being used to clean the studio.

"Well in all fairness, it _does_ look like a duster," Casey rationalized even though it was pointless. Only idiots think that a boom is a duster.

"Seriously, Casey? Just because he reminds you of that character from that one kid's show-"

"Oh, come on! He looks exactly like Handy Manny _and_ his name is Manny. That's like so perfect."

Spencer looked at her like she grew a second head. "Yeah, I'm firing him tomorrow."

"You're a bitch."

"And you love me."

"Unfortunately. So how we do today?" she asked taking the work calendar from Spencer's grasp and looked it over. "Damn! We're booked for like 5 months. And you know I'm so going to redo this atrocity." She held up the calendar where Spencer's scribbles were barely legible.

Spencer chose to ignore this detail. "Yeah, the phones wouldn't stop ringing. Of course half of them were from my mom and yours," she handed Casey a note pad. "All your messages."

Casey flipped through them and rolled her eyes. "Do they think we'll fall into a hole while we're working. Why do they feel the need to check up on us every other second?"

Spencer shrugged. "They're crazy. Must be where we got it from."

"I'm not crazy, thank you very much. So want to order some dinner? We can eat-" She stopped when she heard music and immediately smiled. "Is Sally here?"

"Um, no, I hired some troubadours to serenade me when I work," she deadpanned. "Yes, Sally is here with Ashley. They're working on their album or whatever. And by the by, when were you going to tell me about this EPK we're supposedly shooting?" Casey dismissed her question and made her way to the back room. "Hey! I'm talking to you. You see slave girl every day!" _What do I need to do to get some attention around here?_

"Baby! You didn't tell me you were coming in today," Casey cooed.

Spencer couldn't see them from where she was but she still gagged. _Um, please don't get all cutesy in front of Ashley._

"Me and Ashley were just working out some songs. We're going to try to lay down some tracks this weekend."

"Yeah, we've narrowed it down to 30 songs," Ashley said. "You have one talented girlfriend, Casey. I'm jealous."

"That's my Sally."

Spencer could hear the smile in Ashley's voice and in turn made her smile. _Go in there._

"Spencer and I were just about to order some dinner. You know have them come to us so we don't have to go out in the storm, want to join us, Ashley?"

_Oh, God._ Spencer quickly made her way over to the three girls almost tripping in the process. _Yeah, keep making a fool of yourself._ She blushed when she saw Ashley looking at her with that smile that made her feel all kinds of funny inside.

"Yeah, um I'm actually going to head ho-home."

Casey's raised her eyebrow at the stutter. "In this weather? No, you're staying and having dinner with us," Her tone was final. She also spoke with her eyes telling Spencer, "I'm trying to set you up with Ashley, so stay or I'll kill you."

Spencer swallowed. "Um, but I have go home and feed Koopa."

"Koopa?" Ashley asked putting her guitar back in her case.

"Yeah, Spencer's turtle," Casey said and Sally laughed.

"He's not a turtle," Spencer hit Casey's arm. "He's a cat."

"Then why does he have a turtle's name?" Casey asked.

Spencer blushed when she realized that Ashley had her undivided attention. _Ask and you shall receive._ "Because I like the name!" _Yeah, that was smooth._

Casey and Sally laughed at her expense, but Ashley just continued to smile. "I like it too. Let me guess, Koopa was your favorite character in Super MarioKart?"

_Oh my, God! She is perfect._ Spencer smiled and looked down in embarrassment. "Yeah, I always thought he was cute so I decided that I named my first pet after him."

"I had a dog named Yoshi. He was my favorite."

"Aw, how cute, you guys were both geeks, can we order food now?"

Spencer looked over at Casey and glared at her. _Way to ruin my moment, you whore!_. "Geez Casey, if you're so hungry why don't you just eat Sally, oh wait, you want us to leave first?"

Ashley tried to stifle her laughter but failed miserably. Casey's face hardened and Sally turned a bright shade of red.

"That was so uncalled for, Carlin," she huffed. She grabbed Sally's hand and dragged her out of the room.

Spencer smiled satisfactorily but then realized she was once again left alone in a room with Ashley.

"That was mean," Ashley said still laughing. It was the cutest laugh Spencer ever heard.

"Not really, they should be used to it by now."

"So, do you have to head back home or can you stay for dinner?" Ashley looked at her hopefully. Her brown eyes seem larger like a puppy's.

_How the hell does anyone say no to that?_ "I guess Koopa can wait a little longer. There's food in his bowl."

Ashley's eyes lit up when she smiled. "Great! I mean no offense to Casey or Sally but at dinner the other night, they were very…close?"

Spencer could tell she was trying not to insult anyone and laughed understanding "Yeah, they do that a lot. I'm their permanent third wheel now." She can only imagine how uncomfortable Ashley was when Casey and Sally started groping each other across the dinner table.

"Well I wouldn't say permanent," Ashley said suggestively as she walked up to Spencer. She stopped when she was right in front of her. Spencer had to restrain herself from taking a step back. Ashley was really close. "I'm here now, so your third wheel status has officially ended." She winked before leaving the room.

Spencer felt her body temperature rise in Ashley's wake. Her entire body flushed and she could feel the heat radiate from her face.

_What the hell just happened? That was a pass at me right? I mean no one winks at a person for no reason. Unless she had something stuck in her eye. There is a lot a dust in here ever since I told Manny to stop dusting with the boom. Damnit, Manny!_

"Goldie Locks! What the hell do you want?" Casey called from the front desk.

_Ashley._

---


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

Casey was telling some story about the shoot she did earlier today, but Spencer had no idea what she was saying. She heard only a few words but she can only guess it was Casey complaining about how stuck up and incompetent actors were. She always said that if it weren't for the people working behind the scenes, actors would look like absolute shit.

Spencer was completely focused on Ashley. The four of them were all sitting on the floor in the studio eating Chinese food. Well, Ashley, Casey, and Sally were all eating. Spencer had her chopsticks loaded with shrimp lomein for about fifteen minutes now. They never really made it to her mouth.

"…and she was like, 'I don't like standing here, the camera won't get my good side.' So I was like, 'Bitch! You'll stand wherever the hell I put you.'" Casey finished her anecdote with Sally and Ashley laughing. "God, actors are so demanding."

"Hey! My sister's an actress so watch it," Ashley said pointing her chopstick threateningly at Casey. Casey backed down and situated herself between Sally's legs.

_Is holding chopsticks suppose to be that cute?_ Spencer thought. The lomein finally fell out her chopsticks and back into the carton.

"What's up, Goldie Locks? The lomein too hot for you?" Casey teased. Spencer gave her signature glare and threw a fortune cookie at her.

"Why do you guys always call her Goldie Locks?" Ashley asked curiously. Spencer panicked as she looked from her friends amused faces and back to Ashley's.

"Because-" Sally started.

"Because of my blonde hair!" Spencer blurted. _I'm going to poison their drinks if they open their mouths one more time._

Casey scoffed and sat up. "Oh please. If that was the truth, we'd be calling Sally, Goldie Locks as well. You see Ashley, we call Spencer that because-"

Spencer abruptly got up and started gathering her uneaten food. "Does anyone want anything to drink? Cyanide for you two?" She sent a message to Casey with her eyes. "I swear to God I'll kill you if you tell her." Casey ignored it and continued the explanation.

Ashley looked at Spencer's panicked face and stood up with her. "Actually, I'd love a drink. I'll help you out." And Spencer fell all over again.

"Oh come on, you don't want to know?"

Ashley gave Spencer a little smile. "Nah, I'm pretty sure Spencer will tell me one day." _Please marry me._

Spencer managed to return the smile as Ashley looked at her. "Um, the dr-drinks are in the back." She turned around and walked towards the back with Ashley following her.

"Don't do anything we'd do in there!" Casey called after them. _That's it, I'm looking for a new best friend tomorrow._

"Sorry that I put you on the spot," Ashley apologized once they reached the mini-fridge in the back room.

"Don't worry about it. The-they like to tease me." Spencer opened the fridge and began pulling out drinks. "So what do you want? There's not much of a choice."

Ashley opened the door wider and her hand brushed against Spencer's. Spencer didn't think she could feel hot and cold at the same time. Her hand tingled from the brief contact.

"Wow, you sure like Coke," Ashley observed. "And water."

Spencer smiled. "And Orange Crush." She pointed out three bottles of orange soda on the side of the fridge. "But that's only for me. Drink it, and I might have to kill you." _Whoa, when did I start making death jokes to someone other than Casey?_

Ashley grabbed a bottle and looked at it. She ran her hand against the neck of the bottle like she was trying to remember something. "You know I think I've had one these before and it was like heaven in my mouth."

"Really?" Spencer's voice was hopeful. She remembered exactly when Ashley had her special soda.

It was on one of those special Fridays. Spencer took her usual spot and waited patiently for Ashley. She felt like she was at a concert waiting for the main act to show up. Spencer opened her lunch bag and started taking out its contents. She was actually going to try to eat her lunch today before Ashley arrived. She managed to take three bites of her sandwich when Ashley sat down by the oak tree.

She immediately took out her guitar and started strumming. Spencer had perfected the act of staring without actually looking like she was and observed Ashley. Sometimes she felt like some crazy stalker but who wouldn't watch a beautiful girl playing the guitar? Spencer opened her bottle of Orange Crush and listened.

"Whatcha got there?"

Spencer was surprised by the sudden question and almost spit up a mouthful of soda. Luckily, she managed to swallow it all without choking. "Orange Cru-crush." Spencer wiped her mouth.

Ashley put her guitar down. "Orange Crush? What's that?"

Spencer pushed up her glasses (constantly staring down made them slipped down often) and held out the bottle so Ashley could have a better view of it. "It's ora-orange so-soda."

"Like Sunkist?" Ashley's curious face was absolutely adorable.

"Ki-kinda, but it's so much be-better." Spencer smiled. _I'm actually having a conversation with Ashley Davies. Okay, so it's about soda, but who cares!_

"I bet." Ashley held her gaze a few seconds longer then returned to her guitar.

Spencer was a bit disappointed. "Wo-would you like some?" _Whoa! Where did that come from? Calm yourself!_

Ashley looked up. "You don't mind?"

Spencer shook her head and held out the bottle to her. Ashley got up and walked the short distance to where she was sitting. Spencer realized that this was the closest Ashley has been to her and she kind of panicked. _Do I stand and give her the bottle? Do I wait for her to sit down, then hand it to her? What if she just stands there? What the hell am I suppose to do?_

Ashley answered her question for her as she took a seat and took the soda from her. "Thanks." She tipped her head back and took a sip. Spencer watched as her neck muscles stretched when she gulped the drink. She wondered what it would be like to kiss that neck. Ashley pulled the bottle from her mouth and licked her lips. _Who knew drinking soda could be so hot?_ "Wow, that was really good." She handed the bottle back to Spencer. "Thanks, I just might get myself my own." She smiled at her before she went back to the oak tree.

Spencer held the bottle in her hand like it was the Holy Grail. _If I take a drink, it'd be like me and Ashley were kissing._ She shook her head at the ridiculous thought and took a sip. Spencer swore she could taste raspberry.

"You can have a bottle," Spencer told Ashley returning back to the present.

"I thought you'd have to kill me?" She smirked.

"I'll make an exception."

"Thanks."

They stared at each for a few moments before Spencer grabbed the drinks she originally took out. "Yeah, I sho-should get these to those two out there." She took two water bottles and a can of coke and left for the front room.

"Finally! What the hell were you two doing in there?"

Spencer chucked a water bottle at Casey. "There, I hope you drown while you're drinking it." Casey laughed at her empty threat.

"Hey, I think I'm going to head home," Ashley said from behind Spencer. Spencer turned around and tried to hide the disappointment in her face. "I didn't know how late it was and we have to get up early tomorrow," she told Sally.

"Right, we're going over to Ashley's dad recording studio and start laying down some tracks," she got up and stretched.

"Alright I guess we're all going home." Casey said also getting up and started to clean up the floor.

Spencer waved her down. "I got it. You two go home."

"You sure?" Casey looked at her concerned. She could always tell when Spencer was in sad mood.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Alright." She threw her carton in the trash and put on her coat. "See you later, Ashley."

"You, too."

Casey went up to Spencer gave her a hug. "You know one of these days you're going to have to tell me what's up with you and Ashley," she whispered in her ear.

"I know, but not tonight."

Casey pulled back and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Night. Night, Sally."

"Night, Spencer. And Ashley, I'll meet you at the studio around seven."

"Bright and early," she said with a smile and waved both of them goodbye. "You sure you don't need any help?" she asked Spencer who was already picking up all the cartons on the floor.

"No, I've got it. You head on home."

Ashley grabbed her guitar case and put on her coat. "Goodnight, Spencer."

"Goodnight, Ashley."

Ashley opened the door but turned around one last time. "Thanks for the soda." She gave Spencer a closed lip smile before leaving.

Spencer let out a sigh and sat down on a chair. She was happy that Ashley was actually taking an interest in her but there was something in the back in her mind that was bothering her. She didn't know what it was but it kept her from actually taking a step forward towards Ashley. She was clearly sending out signals but Spencer had no idea why she wasn't reciprocating. Even after all this time, Spencer still felt like Ashley was untouchable. She didn't think that someone like Ashley could actually like someone like her.

_Come on, Spencer. You have the opportunity to make your high school fantasy come true. Go for it, you idiot!_

Spencer smiled to herself. "I just might."

---


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

"So you liked her back in high school?"

"Yes."

"And you never told her how you felt?"

"No."

"And after all years, you still carry a torch for her?"

"Yes."

"But she doesn't even remember who you are?"

"No."

"Did you guys even hang out in high school?"

"Casey!"

"What?"

Spencer let out an exaggerated sigh and took a sip of her coffee. Casey came over bright and early (on a Saturday) to finally interrogate her about Ashley. "What's with the twenty questions?"

"I'm just wondering what is it about this girl that's got you acting all weird," Casey said rummaging through Spencer's cupboard. She was on a quest to find something to eat.

"I'm not acting all weird," she denied.

Casey stopped searching through the cupboards and gave Spencer a look. "Really? So stuttering is completely normal for you?"

"It was back then," Spencer muttered in her mug.

"What?" Casey finally found what she was looking for. She grabbed the box of Rice Krispy Treats cereal from the very back of the corner cupboard and poured herself a bowl. "Why do you keep this in here? Isn't this like your favorite cereal?" she asked while pouring milk over the sweet cereal.

"Exactly. I was trying to hide it from you."

Casey smiled and took a seat across from Spencer at the table. "Oh, you know you can't keep the good stuff away from me."

Spencer grabbed her spoon before it made its way to Casey's mouth. "Stop eating my food."

"Hey! I didn't eat this morning. Sally left for the recording studio before she had time to make me breakfast." She grabbed the spoon back from Spencer and scooped up some cereal into her mouth.

Spencer rolled her eyes. _That doesn't even deserve a comment._

"How come you never talk about high school?" Casey asked with her mouth full.

Spencer looked on in disgust. "Because it wasn't the best years of my life."

"Oh, come on. Everyone says high school is the best years of your life." Casey finished her cereal by sipping the milk directly from the bowl. "It couldn't have been that bad."

"Oh believe me, it was." Spencer got up and retrieved a book from her bookshelf. "Here, page 37."

Casey wiped her hands and took the book. "Oh my God," she said surprised. "Is that you?" she pointed to a picture in the yearbook.

"Yup, in all my geek glory." Spencer couldn't even stand to look at it.

"Aw, look at you and your glasses. And nice bangs! You don't even look yourself in here."

Spencer grabbed the yearbook and threw it across the room. "I'm glad that my misery is entertaining," she crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

"Come on, Spence, everyone is awkward in high school."

"Yeah, but not everyone had a horrible stuttering problem and got made fun for it everyday," she said quietly. She hated reliving her high school days. At least the memories that didn't involve Ashley.

Casey looked at her sympathetically and made her way towards her. "Did Ashley make fun of you for it?"

Spencer let her face break out in a small smile. "No, she's the only who didn't. It was like she didn't even notice that it took me forever to get out a sentence. She was really nice to me."

"And hence your undying lurve for her?" Casey teased.

"Shut up, it wasn't like that." Spencer took a seat on her couch and picked up Koopa who was trying to get her attention. "We barely spoke, but I just felt a connection, you know?" She looked up at Casey to see if she understood her.

"No, not really." She sat down next to her. "Can I ask you a question and you promise you won't get mad or offended?"

Spencer laughed. "Yeah, sure."

Casey looked down at her lap before looking Spencer in the eyes. "If you guys barely spoke and weren't even friends, how can you be in love with her? I mean how can you love someone you don't even know?"

Spencer looked down and petted the top of Koopa's head. "It some ways I did. I saw a side of her that no one else saw. I mean, when we were in that courtyard, it was like we were the only ones in the world. Just me and her. And even if she didn't feel the same way, I cherished those moments because she made high school not so bad. Best years of our lives? Those Fridays, in that courtyard, were the best days of my life." Spencer continued to pet her kitten while she let the words she just said sink in the air. She never said that to anyone and it felt good to finally to let it out.

"Wow," Casey was at lost for words. "Then why don't you tell her that you were the one in that courtyard?"

Spencer stood up and walked into the kitchen. "I can't." Koopa was struggling in her arms so he let him go.

"Why not?" Casey followed her.

"Because she doesn't remember me, so what's the point?"

"The point? Spence, she may not remember you, but I'm pretty sure she'd remember the cute girl in the courtyard she saw every Friday," she stated matter of factly.

"I wasn't cute," Spencer stubbornly protested.

Casey laughed. "You were adorable! Look, you looked a lot different then than you do now. Ashley might not remember how you looked like but I'm pretty sure if you tell her who you are, she'd remember in a heartbeat. So what's the harm in telling?"

Spencer scratched her head in frustration. "What if she remembers how incredibly lame I was back then and loses interest?"

"And how do you know that she didn't feel the same way about you back then? What if those Fridays were the best days of her life?"

Spencer scoffed. "Yeah, right. I highly doubt those Fridays meant to her as much as they meant to me."

Casey groaned in frustration. "What's with you? Since when do you think so little of yourself?"

Spencer also groaned in frustration and threw her hands down by her side. "Casey, the girl I am today isn't the girl I was back then. The summer after Senior year, I decided that I wanted to change so I could gain more self-confidence before I went to college. I got my mom to enroll me in speech classes to get rid of my stutter, I got contacts, I grew my hair out, and I actually made an effort in my appearance. That's the girl you met Freshmen year of college. That's the girl I want Ashley to know now." She let out a long breath. "I don't ever want her to remember that girl in that courtyard. I may have been disappointed before when she couldn't but now this way, I can start fresh. Have her fall for the me now."

Casey bit her lip before responding. "What if she liked that girl in the courtyard?"

"Casey," her voice was resigned. _Why can't she understand?_ "Being around Ashley just reminds me of how I felt back then."

"How?"

"Inferior," she said quietly and looked down. "And invisible."

Casey took a step towards Spencer and lifted her chin so she could see her face. "Ashley saw you," she told her quietly. "You can never be invisible."

Spencer didn't even realize the tears that were forming in her eyes and threatened to fall. "Where were you during my high school years?" she asked with a tearful smile.

Casey shrugged. "Probably having sex with Sally in the backseat of my car."

Spencer laughed and Casey pulled her into a hug. "Did I ever tell you that you're the bestest friend a girl could have?" she asked with her face in Casey's shoulder.

"No, you say I'm the most annoying friend that a girl could have," she said jokingly. She could feel the vibrations of Spencer's laugh. She pulled back and wiped away some of Spencer's tears that fell. "So want to go head down to the recording studio and start filming the EPK? You can film all of Ashley's parts if you want."

Spencer smiled. "Thanks, but I might accidentally aim the camera somewhere not so appropriate."

Casey burst out laughing. "You perve." She let go of Spencer and headed towards the door. "I'll meet you downstairs."

Spencer watched Casey leave and went to retrieve her yearbook that was strewn across her living room floor. She flipped open to a certain page of Ashley in the courtyard playing her guitar. She remembered when that picture was taken considering she was the one who took it.

"Can-can I ta-take your picture for the yearbook?" Spencer asked once Ashley sat down by the oak tree.

Ashley looked up and smiled. "You're on the yearbook committee?"

"No, but the pho-photography class and the film class are collabora-rating on it." Spencer held up the brand new camera she had just purchased. She mowed lawns the entire summer just to pay for it. It wasn't a camcorder but it was something. She still had to use the school's cameras for her class. Spencer was still saving up to buy a real camcorder. "Do you mind?" she suddenly wasn't so sure of herself.

Ashley sat up straighter. "Not at all, how do you want me?"

_By my side._ "Um, just keep on playing and I'll ta-take the picture." Ashley did as she was told and continued to play. Spencer knelt down on one knee to get a better angle and brought the camera to her eyes. She snapped several shots before she was satisfied she caught all of Ashley's features. "Tha-thanks." Spencer returned to her spot and looked over the pictures. Ashley was absolutely stunning.

"Hey." Spencer looked up to find Ashley watching her. _Well, that's different._ "If that gets printed in the yearbook, will you sign it for me?"

Spencer looked down on the pictures again. "Sure."

Spencer closed the yearbook and put it back on her shelf. She never did get to sign Ashley's yearbook which was one of the many things she regretted back then. She sighed and picked her camera bag.

_Forget the past, Spencer. You're about to film Ashley so get your best game face on and charm the hell out of her._

---


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

"I thought Sally said that this was an indie label?" Spencer asked once her and Casey pulled up to the recording studio. The edifice she was looking at had to be (in her opinion) eleventy billion stories high.

"It is!" Casey said also disbelieving while pulling up in a parking space. They exited the car and made their made to the entrance of the building.

The glass doors shined impeccably and Spencer briefly wondered if there was a team of little fairies who washed the doors every other second. Their plain sneakers squeaked against the marble floor as the two girls made their way to the front desk. The women behind the desk look like the stereotypical uptight businesswoman who probably needed to get laid as badly as Spencer.

"May I help you ladies?" Despite her cold exterior, the woman had a pleasantly sweet voice.

Casey fished around her bag and pulled out a press badge. "We're RoPaSci Film Productions, we're here to film the press kit for Sally Jenkins and Ashley Davies." Spencer also presented her badge.

"Oh, yes, they're expecting you. They're on the 56th floor, go right ahead."

"Thank you." Spencer and Casey shouldered their bags and made their way to the elevators.

"Holy shit, Ashley's dad must be loaded," Spencer said once they were inside the shiny elevator. She hit the button for the 56th floor.

"Hey, have you've ever seen the movie, _The Shaft_?" Casey asked randomly while checking to make sure they had all their equipment.

Spencer raised a curious eyebrow at her friend. "No, why?" _Was that a porno?_

"The movie absolutely sucked by Naomi Watts in it and she's so fucking hot so I watched the entire thing." Casey stopped and had a glazed look on her face.

"Casey, stop thinking about a threesome with you, Sally, and Naomi."

Casey snapped out of it and went back to what she was originally saying. "Sorry, anyways, the movie is about this elevator that has like a mind of its own and it just kills whoever uses it. And sometimes, it sucks you in without you even being in it," she said all this as if she were talking about the weather.

Spencer looked at her expectantly. "And this is relevant, how?"

Casey shrugged. "Well, we're in an elevator."

Spencer shook her head and waited for the lift to arrive to its destination. _If this elevator kills me, I'm going to haunt her for the rest of her life._

The doors finally slid open and Spencer and Casey navigated their way to where they were suppose to be. Having been in a few recording studios before, Spencer and Casey were utterly stunned when they walked into the biggest sound studio they've ever seen. Ashley and Sally were on the other side of the soundproof glass singing a track while a man sat behind the soundboard fiddling and adjusting the many knobs in contained.

He turned around when he heard their gasps of awe and greeted them. "You must be the girlfriends," he said getting up and shaking their hands.

"Oh, no, she's the girlfriend," Spencer said pointing to Casey. "I'm just the partner," she corrected while shaking the man's hand.

"I'm Casey McDonald, and this is Spencer Carlin," she too shook his hand.

"Raife Davies, Ashley's dad." He had warms eyes and despite his age, had a boysish charm to him. He looked Spencer up and down as if he recognized her. Spencer bit her lip nervously. "Spencer? Ashley said you were pretty, but you are absolutely gorgeous."

Spencer looked down and felt all the blood rush to her face. She could feel Casey staring at her. "Um, thanks."

"So," he said while clapping his hands together. "The girls are still recording, but once their done, they're all yours."

"Oh, actually, we can actually film them while their recording. Get some action shots in there," Casey said and pulled out her camera. Spencer followed suit.

"Alright, I'll just get out of your way then," he smiled again before returning to the soundboard.

Spencer looked through the glass and watched as Ashley and Sally sang. It was at the bridge part of the song and both girls had their eyes closed while they emoted the lyrics they have written. She smiled fondly at Ashley who was playing with the chord of the headphones she was wearing and was bouncing on the balls of her feet to the music. Spencer realized that this was probably the first time she's seen Ashley without playing her guitar. It was like her fingers were itching to play with something.

"You're staring," Casey sing-songed. "And don't even deny it." She handed Spencer a tripod. "Go film your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." _As much as I want her to be._

"But she think you're preettttyyy, she wants to daatteeee you," Casey said doing her best impression of Sandra Bullock.

Spencer rolled her eyes and started to film Ashley and Sally though the glass. She couldn't help herself as she let some of the shots focus a little longer on Ashley. _You're a professional, so act like one!_ The song finished and both girls opened their eyes and smiled proudly.

"That was great girls," Raife said speaking through a mic. "Now get your asses out here, your entourage has arrived."

Ashley and Sally looked through the glass only now realizing that Spencer and Casey were there. They exited the recording booth and greeted them.

"Hey, how we do?" Sally asked Casey who was still filming her.

"Amazing, I'd kiss you but this is going in the EPK."

Spencer rolled her eyes and remained professional. She followed Ashley's movements as she stood next to her dad.

"Is that thing recording?" Ashley asked somewhat nervously.

"Yes." Spencer smiled. "So, how was it like recording your first song?" _Yes, Carlin, keep it cool. So far so good._

Ashley looked up at her dad who was smiling proudly at her. "It was incredible. A little nerve-wracking, but still good." She looked at the camera and smiled.

"You're a natural," her dad said kissing the top of her head. "I have to go and meet your mom for brunch, so we'll continue recording tomorrow okay, sweetie?"

"Sure, dad." Spencer could see that her cheeks were a little red at her father's little pet name.

"It was nice to meet you, Spencer. Take care of my girl," he winked at her before leaving.

Spencer had no idea what that meant but the look on Ashley's face was priceless. Well, at least of what Spencer could see considering Ashley had hidden it behind her hand.

"I'm sorry about him, he's um, he's my dad," Ashley said. She was blushing. _Oh, how the tables have turned._ "So anyways, how does this whole EPK thing work?" she asked completely switching the subject

"Well, the purpose of it is to promote so we're just going to film you guys making the album, and you guys can give us insight on what it's about, a little about you, you know basics," Spencer explained. _Wow, I got through that without a stutter? Cool points for me!_

"So, what do you want to know?" Ashley asked almost seductively. She was leaning against the soundboard and staring at Spencer with a glint in her eyes.

"Um, well we can sta-start with um," _Fuck, there I go again._. Spencer took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts.

"Hey, Spencer," Casey called. _Oh thank, God._ "I'm going to film Sally in a different location, you cool here?" Casey raised her eyebrows at Spencer and did their famous eye conversation. "You okay with being alone with Ashley?" she said.

"Yeah, it's cool. You go ahead," she assured her. Casey smiled and then left with Sally. "And keep it professional!" Spencer called before she left completely. She turned her attention back to Ashley who was grinning at her. "What?"

"Nothing," she dismissed but she was still grinning. Spencer felt oddly giddy. "So you want to see my room?" _Her room?_ Ashley saw the confused look on Spencer's face and clarified. "I have a music room here where I keep all my shit." _Oh! Duh, it's her dad's studio._

"Yeah, sure. We can film in there if you don't mind."

"You're the director." Ashley walked pass her and led them out the hallway. Spencer followed with her camera rolling.

"So, how long has your father owned this label?" Spencer asked while they walked. She was in full on documentary mode as she filmed the numerous plaques that aligned the walls of the hallway. She followed Ashley with every turn never missing a shot.

"As long as I can remember," Ashley replied looking over shoulder. "I kind of feel like I'm on MTV Cribs,"

Spencer laughed as she focused on Ashley's face. "If you want I can edit so it looks like you're being fast forwarded."

"That'd be awesome!" Ashley finally stopped at a room and opened the door. "This is where the magic happens," she told the camera jokingly.

Spencer was smiling like a goon. She panned out so she can get the entire room into view. Five guitars stood on stands in the corner, a piano in the center of the room, and a drum set by one of the walls. "Wow," Spencer said in awe. "This is your room?"

Ashley smiled proudly and sat down on the piano bench. "Yup," she hit a key on the piano.

Spencer set up her tripod and situated it right in front of the piano getting a great view of Ashley. "So, what got you into music?"

Ashley smiled looking down at her lap. "It's kind of in my blood." She looked up at Spencer and then at the camera. "My dad was in a band and my mother was a violin teacher. They met at a charity event and-"

"Love at first sight?" Spencer asked.

Ashley let out a laugh. "Not really. My mom hated my dad. She always thought that the only real music was classical music. She hated the band he was in, but of course that changed once he asked her out." She stopped when she saw the look Spencer was giving her. "I'm sorry, is this too personal?"

"No, no, not all. Keep going." Spencer smiled to reassure her.

"Well, they fell in love and got married. Then like a year later, I was born. Dad quit the band to help take care of my mom and then he started this label." She held her arms out around the room. "Says it was the best thing he ever did."

Spencer felt a kind of warmth knowing a little more about Ashley's life. "So your parents got you into music?"

"Oh yeah." She turned around fully on the bench and played a few chords on the piano. "But it was a battle. Dad wanted me to play rock, mom wanted me to play classical. But in the end I ended up doing both. I can jam to Hendrix or Mozart."

_Wow._

"But I chose to play the guitar because it's the first instrument I learned to play. And I sometimes feel like it's my best friend." Ashley blushed at her confession. "That sounds really weird."

"No, it doesn't. I think that's amazing that you have such a passion for it."

"Yeah," she got up from the bench and took an acoustic guitar and sat down on one of the couches. Spencer turned the camera and refocused it. "In high school, I brought my guitar with me every Friday and just played." She looked up Spencer and looked her right in the eyes. Spencer swallowed a lump in her throat. "Can I ask you a question? You know off the record?"

_Ummm._ "Yeah, sure." Spencer turned off the camera.

Ashley put her guitar back and bit her lip. "Did we ever cross paths in high school?"

Spencer avoided her gaze and started fidgeting with her camera. "Um, no, not really."

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked insistent. "Because you remind me so much of someone I knew back then."

_Why is she remembering now?_ "Must have been someone different," she lied.

Ashley looked at her for a few moments like she was trying to figure something out. "Maybe," she was unconvinced. "I mean I never really knew her name but she reminds me a lot of you. Strange, right?"

That was the truth, Ashley never really knew name back then. That's because Ashley called her something different. Something that Spencer stored in the back of her mind and would never forget.

"Hey, how come you've never told me your name?" Ashley asked one time. It's been about ten Fridays and Ashley still didn't know Spencer's name.

"Um, you-you've never asked?" Spencer replied. She didn't want Ashley to know her name. If she did, then she asked around school and all those jerks would just refer to her as the stuttering idiot.

"I'm asking now," she said cheekily.

Spencer looked down causing her glasses to slip down again. _I could just leave it hanging and she'll never know. Then I'll look like an idiot. Just tell her!_

Ashley sensed her discomfort. "Can I just give you a nickname then?"

Spencer looked up at her confused. "A nick-nickname?"

"Yeah, I'll call you," she tapped her finger in her chin in an exaggerated fashion. Then her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Euterpe."

_What?_ "Euterpe?"

"Yes, that's my name for you. I'll call you that from now on until you tell me your real name," she said giving her a huge smile.

"But what-what does that mean?" _Is it something bad?_

Ashley grinned. "It means," she stopped not quite sure if she should continue. "It means girl in a courtyard keeping girl with guitar company." She left it like that and went back to playing.

Spencer almost got lost in the memory but snapped out of it. She looked everywhere but Ashley's face. "Listen, I think we have enough for now. We'll shoot more later." Spencer quickly gathered her things and started to leave the room.

"Wait," Ashley got up and stopped her by grabbing her arm. Spencer paused and looked up at Ashley. "Um, do you think, um I mean," Ashley fumbled with her words and Spencer looked at her curiously. _Why she acting weird all the sudden? She's not the one who just freaked out a second ago._ Ashley took a deep breath before speaking again. "Would you like to go out with me some time?"

Spencer never saw Ashley looked so nervous and unsure of herself. It was absolutely adorable. _She just asked me out! She asked me out! Ashley Davies, the love of my life, just asked me out! Call the press! Alert the media. Answer the question first dumbass!_

"I'd love to." _I just said yes!_ Ashley gave her a huge smile. "I'll see you later, Ashley."

"See you later."

---


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

Despite what Casey says, Spencer was a very organized person. Her DVDs were alphabetized, her video files were categorized, and all her clothes were color-coded. So when Casey and Sally walked through her apartment finding clothes strewn all over the place and no Spencer in sight, they knew something was wrong.

"Spencer?" Casey called cautiously.

"In here!" Her voice was distant.

"In where?"

"My room!"

Casey and Sally maneuvered their way past a pile of shirts but Casey almost lost her footing when she passed a mound of sweaters. When she tripped over a stray sneaker she stopped before she caused herself injury. They finally found their way into the bedroom but still couldn't find Spencer.

"Marco!"

"Polo!" Spencer was in her closet.

"Oh the irony," Casey commented but was rewarded with a shirt thrown in her face. "Are you having a charity drive?"

"Huh?" Spencer continued to toss clothing aside, distracted. She was wrapped in a towel, hair still wet from the shower.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Spencer stood up and pushed shirts aside hanging from a rack. "Looking for my lucky shirt." _Did my closet eat it?_

Sally laughed. "You have a lucky shirt?"

Spencer ignored her and continued to look. "I know it's here somewhere, I just can't find it."

Sally cleared some clothes off the bed and sat on it while Casey made her way to the closet. "Maybe because it's like Narnia in there," she pushed some more clothes aside. "Jeez, Spence, this closet is bigger than your entire apartment."

Spencer pulled out another pile of clothing and threw it in her room. "Damnit, I really want to wear that tonight." _Oh my God, tonight. My date with Ashley. I have to find that damn shirt._

"What's so special about this shirt?" Sally asked while refolding some of Spencer's clothes.

_It was the shirt I was wearing when I first met Ashley._ "It's just my favorite shirt, and I really want to wear it."

"Spencer, I'm sure Ashley will think you'll look gorgeous with whatever you wear," Casey told her sincerely. "Really, you should stop worrying." She took her by the shoulders and gently pulled her of the closet.

"I know, it's just this isn't just another date. It's Ashley. I've only been dreaming about this for six years." Spencer sighed and sat down on her bed. Casey and Sally sat on each side of her. "I mean, I just want it to be perfect so she'll see how I am now, you know?" Spencer hated being this vulnerable in front of her friends. She was always the toughest out of the three of them.

"Spencer, it's pretty obvious that Ashley likes you. I mean, she gets all googly-eyed when she sees you."

Spencer smiled at the thought because she couldn't picture Ashley getting googly-eyed at her.

"And," Sally added. "She asks about you all the time when we're working."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Yeah, really. It's kind of annoying really." Spencer slapped her playfully. "I'm just kidding. So here," she pulled out a nice blue long-sleeved shirt and held it out to her. "Wear this, it will bring out your gorgeous blue eyes and Ashley will probably fall over from your hotness."

"And this," Casey grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and handed them to Spencer. "This will accentuate your legs and hot ass."

Spencer rolled her eyes at her friends but took the offered clothes. "Thanks, what would I do without you two?"

Casey and Sally shrugged. "Oh suffer endlessly no doubt," Casey said.

"Or, live my life annoyance free." Spencer gave them both a kiss on the cheek before getting up to get ready. She was about to drop her towel when she realized that Casey and Sally were still in her room. "Guys, I know we're close but there's no chance in hell I'm letting you see me fully naked."

Casey and Sally rolled their eyes and got off the bed. "Fine, we'll just clean up the mess you made in your living room."

"Thank you."

An hour later, Spencer had successfully cleaned up her apartment, got ready, and managed to (literally) manhandle Casey and Sally out her door. There was no way she was going to let them stay when Ashley came over. Now Spencer's nerves were going haywire. She never felt so many butterflies in her stomach that she actually though that if she opened her mouth, a few of them might fly out. She obsessively checked her watch and reflection every five minutes.

Ashley said she'd pick her up around 7:00 and it was 6:50. Spencer had no idea if she'd be early or late or right on time. _Oh my God, get a hold of yourself you spaz._ Spencer checked her reflection for the millionth time when she heard a knock on the door. _She's here, holy shit. Answer the door!_ She took a deep breath before turning the knob and opening it.

Spencer smiled when she saw Ashley looking as nervous as she was. She had straightened her hair and put it up in a half ponytail. She looked absolutely gorgeous wearing a simple outfit similar to Spencer. Jeans and a shirt. Ashley held out a bouquet of flowers.

"Um, these are for you," Ashley blushed as she handed Spencer the bouquet. "I didn't know what flowers you liked, so I got you pretty much one of each."

Spencer took the flowers and smelled them. _She got me flowers!_. "These are absolutely beautiful, thank you." She smiled at Ashley and Ashley blushed more. "And I like daisies, just for the record." _Whoa there confident Spencer, slow down now._

"I'll remember that." They stood there for a few minutes just staring at each other. The stare was getting too intense that Spencer had to break it

"Um, come in while I put these in some water." Spencer stepped aside to let Ashley in. "I'll just be a second and then we can go." She went into the kitchen trying to find a vase.

"I like your place," Ashley commented.

"Thank you," Spencer said from under her sink. _There you are!_ She grabbed the dusty vase she had under there and filled it water. She put the flowers in it and stood back to admire them. _Ashley Davies got me flowers. Wow, I'm never going to throw these out._

Ashley wandered around Spencer's living room looking at the various things hanging on the walls and sitting on shelves. "You have quite a DVD collection," she said pointing to the massive tower in her living room.

"Yeah, I own pretty much every movie ever made. It's the film geek in me," Spencer said blushing.

Ashley smiled and looked down when she felt something rubbing against her ankles. "And you must be Koopa." She bent down and picked up Spencer's kitten. Koopa meowed and rubbed his face against Ashley's. "He's absolutely adorable."

Spencer had to fight the urge to not get her camera and start filming Ashley. It was quite possibly the cutest scene to ever unfold before her eyes. Ashley holding her kitten while he pretty much cuddled with her. _That lucky pussy._

"He seems to like you."

"I hoping he's not the only one." Ashley gave Spencer a grin while she kept on petting Koopa. Spencer bit her lip and looked down so Ashley couldn't see her entire face go red. "You ready?"

Spencer looked up to find Ashley still grinning at her. "Um, yea-yeah."

Ashley put Koopa down and headed towards the door. "You look really beautiful tonight," she said while holding the door open for Spencer.

_It's official, she's trying to kill me._ "Thank you, you look beautiful, too." _You always look beautiful._

It was Ashley's turn to blush. "I guess you're rubbing off on me then. Shall we?" Spencer nodded and followed Ashley out of her building.

_This is going to be an interesting night._

*~*~*~*~

"And that's why I never eat chicken," Ashley finished her story and Spencer had to cover her face with her napkin because she was laughing with a mouth full. Ashley had been telling her a story about a traumatic experience she had when she was a kid. It involved a blowtorch and man in a chicken costume.

"Wow, that would get me to stop eating chicken, too."

"I know, right? Anyways, so don't take it personally when I cringed when you ordered your chicken parmgiana." Ashley took a sip from her drink. "So, I feel like I've told you my entire life story, what about you?"

Spencer pushed around the left over food on her plate with her fork. "What about me?" _Great, it's the me part of the conversation, I was hoping we'd skip it._

"Well, what's your story? Tell me about your family or what you were like in high school considering I obviously don't remember," she said jokingly. Ashley paused when she realized that Spencer wasn't responsive but looking down at her food. "Your favorite color?"

Spencer let out a little laugh. "Red," she answered looking up.

"Ha! I knew I find out something about you." Ashley smiled at her.

_It won't kill you to tell her about your family. Just leave out the high school stuff._ "Well, I grew up in Ohio and I moved here the summer before I started high school."

Ashley gave her a sympathetic look. "Oh wow, that must of sucked leaving all your friends behind and coming to a whole new state to start in a whole new school."

_Sucked like you wouldn't believe._ "Yeah, it did. My older brother, Glen, graduated high school before we moved so he was already off to college at Duke. He already accepted the fact that he wasn't going to live in Ohio anymore." Spencer sipped her Coke and watched Ashley. All her attention was focused on Spencer and it made Spencer feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "Yeah, so you know, I just sucked it up and dealt with it." _And high school was all kinds of hell but you made it feel a little better._

"So, who did you hang out with in high school? Maybe we ran in the same circle of friends and never knew it." There was something in Ashley's voice that made Spencer think that she knew something but wasn't saying it.

"Um, I don't think so."

"Oh, come on, we must have someone in common back then," Ashley was persistent.

_Okay, if she knows I was the girl in the courtyard, why doesn't she just come out and say it? Why don't I just come out and say it?_

"No, I don't think we did. I mean I wasn't exactly _Miss Popular_ in high school." Spencer surprised herself at how bitter she sounded.

Ashley furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Spencer rolled her eyes and suddenly four years of being ignored and picked on was crashing towards her. "Oh come on, you had to know that you were one of the most popular girls in school. Everyone fell over themselves when they were around you. You're telling me you never noticed? Right, of course you didn't, why would you ever notice anyone beneath you?" _What's wrong with you? Why are you attacking her? She was the only one who never ignored or teased you._

"Um, I have no idea what you're talking about," Ashley started defensively. "But you have no right to pass judgment on me back then, because according to _you_ we never crossed paths so as far as I know you never even knew me!" Ashley immediately regretted what she said when she saw the look on Spencer's face.

Spencer felt like she was kicked in the gut. "You're right, I didn't," she said softly. "I gotta go." She abruptly stood up and left, ignoring Ashley's pleas and apologies.

_God, I'm such a fool._

---


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten_

Spencer entered her apartment with a million feelings running through her and all of them were bad. She was angry, upset, sad, embarrassed, and frustrated. Not to mention she felt bad that she pretty much stole a cab from some girl. Spencer could only imagine the reaction that stranger had when she pulled her out of the way so she can get into the waiting taxi herself. She also couldn't get the image of Ashley running out of the restaurant looking for her as the taxi driver drove away.

The night did not go the way Spencer expected. She had no idea why she snapped at Ashley the way she did. She just wanted a perfect night with the girl of her dreams. Instead, her past kept coming back to remind her how not so perfect her high school life was.

_It's not like Ashley knew how bad it was for me because I refuse to tell her. But she doesn't need to know that about me. Why does she keep bringing it up? What does she expect from me? To admit I was the girl she saw every Friday? What would that give her?_

Spencer groaned in frustration as she made her way to her bedroom. She threw herself face first onto pillows and squeezed them around her head. She hadn't felt this shitty _since_ high school. One incident seem to creep in her mind as Spencer thought about the events of the night.

She had stomped into the courtyard with tears falling down her face. They had a substitute for English class that day, and of course he had asked her to read a stanza out loud from the poem they were studying. She stuttered her whole way through and the teacher didn't know exactly whether to ask her to stop or let her finish. Of course he chose the latter, and Spencer stuttered through the entire thing while listening to not so discrete snickers from her class.

When she was done, Spencer bit her lip so hard from trying not to cry that she tasted blood. The teacher asked someone else to read the next stanza and of course he chose one of the biggest assholes. The asshole started to read the poem with a stutter just to mock Spencer. He earned laughs from the class but fortunately the substitute had the brains to stop him. Spencer looked down the remainder of the class trying her hardest not to cry. She felt like she was going to explode from the hurt and embarrassment.

She almost considered not going to the courtyard because she didn't want Ashley seeing her in this state. But seeing her would make her day a little better even if were just a second. Spencer was pulling violently at the grass blades when Ashley arrived. The tears had stopped but there were still remnants on her face. She could feel Ashley watching her from her spot by the oak tree so Spencer avoided her gaze the entire time.

"I know that they never mow this area, but I think ripping out the grass would make it all uneven."

Spencer looked up briefly and saw Ashley smiling at her. Just smiling. It wasn't a sympathetic smile or a pity smile, it was just a smile. The same smile Ashley has been giving her since the first time she sat down in this courtyard.

Spencer managed a weak smile in return. "I-I don't like lo-long grass."

"Yeah, me neither. They itch," she said scrunching up her face. Spencer laughed while still absently picking at the grass. "You should keeping going though, this courtyard is pretty big and there's a lot of grass."

Spencer suddenly felt a thousand times better. The fact that Ashley never even brought up the elephant in the room just made her fall that much in love with her.

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot," Spencer told her room as the memory faded. She honestly didn't mean to snap at Ashley, but she kept four years of constant teasing and being ignored all bottled up and it just happened to come out that night. It also hurt when Ashley said that Spencer didn't know her, because she always felt like she did. _She didn't mean it, you just attacked her, and of course she was going to get defensive. Spencer, you're an idiot. She probably thinks you're one too. How can I face her again?_

Spencer stayed in her apartment the entire weekend ignoring calls from everybody. Her parents, Casey and Sally, and especially Ashley. She actually turned off her cell phone at one point because she couldn't stand to see Ashley's name popping up on her screen. Spencer was a mess as she lay in her bed still in her pajamas. She had been kicking herself the entire weekend trying to figure out a way to avoid Ashley. Which proved to be extremely difficult considering Ashley worked with Sally and that she and Casey were suppose to be filming the EPK. They were actually scheduled to film another segment today but Spencer was too busy freaking out.

Spencer's landline started to ring and she furrowed her brow in confusion. No one called her on that line except the landlord and all the utility companies. She let it go to the answering machine and then heard Casey's voice filling her living room.

"Spencer Carlin, you fucking turn on your cell phone. I'm so worried about you. What happened? Sally told me Ashley called all upset about what happened on your date. She kept apologizing and asking us to talk to you. What happened? Spencer, pick up your phone or I'm coming over."

The line went dead and Spencer sighed. She had no doubt in her mind that Casey was going to be there in about ten minutes. She was surprised she didn't come over sooner when she wasn't picking up her phone. Spencer really didn't want to relive the whole night with Casey but she knew she had to.

_Ashley called Sally all upset? Great, I made her feel bad. None of this is her fault, it's all my stupid insecurities._

Sure enough, Casey came over and Spencer told her everything that happened.

"And I just don't know what to say to her, you know?" Spencer looked at her friend with the saddest look in her eyes. "I don't want her to know how bad it was for me back then, I want her to know how good she made me feel back then, how good she makes me feel now."

Casey looked at Spencer sympathetically. "Then tell her," she said tucking strand of hair behind Spencer's ear. "Tell her how you feel."

Spencer looked down at her hands. "But what if I scared her away already?"

Casey picked up her discarded cell phone and waved it in front of Spencer's face. "She called you like 800 times, I don't think you scared her away. She probably thinks she scared _you_ away."

"You're right," she sighed. "But I don't think I can face her just yet, I think I need some time."

"Alright," Casey said understanding. "I can go film the EPK by myself."

"No, you don't have to do that," Spencer said feeling guilty she's leaving Casey with all the work. "We can reschedule this segment."

"Don't worry about it. I'll film today and you can man the studio. I'll drop off the footage so you can start editing it, okay?"

Spencer conceded with a tired smile. "Okay."

Spencer tried her hardest not to get distracted by her thoughts while she was working. She knew it was going to be hard considering she was going to be editing footage of Ashley but she tried to keep her mind at the task at hand. Casey had dropped off the footage a few hours ago and offered to stay and help but Spencer sent her home. It was after hours now so she was alone in the studio and could work without any interruptions.

She looked through the video files on her computer trying to figure out what to edit first. There were segments with just Ashley, segments with just Sally, segments with them both, and random shots that she was going to intermix with the EPK.

Spencer clicked on one of the most recent clips of Ashley that Casey filmed that day. The video started playing on her editing software. Ashley's pretty face came into view and Spencer unconsciously smiled. She noticed that Casey had chosen to film this particular clip outside. Ashley was sitting cross-legged on a patch of grass and the sun was shining brightly illuminating the natural highlights in her hair.

"So, what are your songs about?" Casey asked from behind the camera.

Ashley looked a little somber in the clip as she answered. "Oh you know the usual, love, lost, friendship, life." She gave a little smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Some of your love songs are really heartfelt and powerful, are they from experience?"

"Funnily enough, no." Ashley grinned but she was looking pass the camera at (what Spencer was assuming) Casey's surprised face. "I know, Sally tells me all her love songs are about you," she teased. "But no, I've never been a real serious relationship."

_Really?_

"Then where do you get your inspiration from for those songs?"

Ashley looked down at her knees when she answered. "I wrote most of my songs in high school because that's where my muse was."

"Your muse?"

"Yeah." She looked up and squinted at the camera. "In Greek mythology there are nine muses and one of them happened to attend my high school," Ashley said jokingly.

"Oh really? Which one?"

"The muse of song lyric. Her name was Euterpe."

Spencer's heart stopped when she heard this. _Euterpe? That's what Ashley called me._

"So Euterpe was in your class?" Casey continued their little jest in the video clip and Spencer hung on to every word.

Ashley had this far away look as she spoke, her focus no longer on the camera. "Yeah, she inspired me every week. Whenever she was around, lyrics and music just flowed right out of me." Ashley seemed to snap out whatever daze she was in and looked at the camera. "I'm sorry, I must sound completely crazy right now."

Spencer heard Casey laugh and the camera shook a little. "No, you're good. This is good for now, I still need to film some of Sally and you together."

"Oh, that's cool." Then the clip went to black.

Spencer just stared blankly at her computer screen trying to digest all that she heard.

_I was her muse?_ She was still staring when she heard a knock from behind her. _Can't people read the sign? I knew I should have locked the door._ "I'm sorry, but studio hours are over."

"I know, but I was hoping you'd make an exception." Spencer wheeled her chair around so fast that she was surprised she didn't get whiplash. Ashley was standing there looking very uncertain with a bouquet of daisies in her hand.

_Yeah, I can make an exception._

---


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven_

Spencer watched as Ashley stood by the door frame, shifting nervously from foot to foot. _This would be the time to say something._ "Ashley," she started but Ashley interrupted.

"I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but I really wanted to talk to you and you wouldn't return my calls." She stepped forward into the room and walked towards Spencer. "I was going to go to your apartment, and you know, hold a boombox over my head but I realized that your neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate that." Spencer chuckled at the thought of Ashley outside her window and her neighbor, Mrs. Hegenboth, chasing her away with a broomstick. "So I kind of over heard Casey tell Sally today that she was going to drop off the footage here and you were going to be working." She handed Spencer the daisies which she took with a smile on her face. "And I just happen to stop by a flower shop on the way here."

Spencer just stood there staring at the flowers. "Ashley," she said again.

"I'm sorry," Ashley apologized. "I didn't mean what I said that night, I was just taken off guard and I-"

It was Spencer's turn to interrupt. "No, Ashley, I'm the one who should be apologizing. You did nothing wrong."

"But I snapped at you."

"I snapped at you first," Spencer protested.

"Yeah, but I kept on pushing you, and-"

"Wait." _This is going nowhere._ "Let's sit down and let me explain myself." _Now or never, Spencer._

Ashley just stared at Spencer intently but didn't say anything as she was led to a couch in the room. Spencer set the daisies aside and sat down across from Ashley. Taking a deep breath, she looked Ashley in the eyes and began talking.

"We did know each other in high school," she started. Spencer already knew that Ashley knew but it was something she needed to say. Ashley opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself and let Spencer continue. Spencer fiddled with her fingers as she spoke. "High school was really hard for me," she chuckled bitterly at her understatement and looked down at her hands. "I didn't have anyone. Not one friend. I was constantly picked on and ignored by almost everyone. I didn't like being around people so when I wasn't in class, I was in this courtyard." Spencer stopped and looked at Ashley. She saw nothing but understanding and warmth. "That's where I met you." Her voice cracked a little from emotion and the intense stare Ashley was currently giving her.

"I remember. You were eating your lunch. Turkey sandwich, brownies, and your Orange Crush." Spencer was surprised to know that Ashley remembered exactly what she had. "I sat down by that oak tree and started playing my guitar and I played you 'All I Have To Do Is Dream' by the Everly Brothers."

Spencer felt her heart swell at Ashley's recollection and she started to get emotional. "You were the only person who was nice to me. And I know it sounds crazy considering we barely spoke, but I felt like I knew you. Everyone else saw you as this popular rebel, but I saw _you_." Spencer felt her tears spilling from her eyes and she tried to wipe them away.

"You did see me, Spencer," Ashley said softly. "And you know what?" She reached over and gently wiped away Spencer's tears and tilted her chin up so she can see her eyes. "I saw you, too."

A fresh batch of tears fell and Spencer tried to look down again but Ashley held onto her firmly. "But I was invisible," she stated sadly.

Ashley shook her head as she continued to wipe tears. "Never, Euterpe," she said using Spencer's nickname. "You were my inspiration." That managed to get a small smile out of Spencer. "That day when we met in the courtyard, I just knew there was something special about you." Ashley started to run her fingers through Spencer's hair unconsciously and Spencer had to fight the urge not to close her eyes at the sensation "I was trying to escape from everyone who was pretending to be my friends just because I have a famous dad and just find a place where I can gather my thoughts so I went to that courtyard. And then I saw you away from that chaos and I felt," she bit her lip trying to think of a word. "Safe." _She felt safe with me?_ "I didn't have to pretend with you. No fake smiles or facades. Just me and my guitar."

Spencer stared with wide eyes at Ashley's confession. About a million thoughts were running through her head and she had no idea where to start. "Oh." _Oh? Oh?! After all that, all you can say is oh?_

"Oh," Ashley repeated and laughed. Spencer just realized how close Ashley was to her. "You know, I really wanted to get to know you but you seemed so shy that I didn't want scare you away."

Spencer blushed and looked down again. "I wasn't that great of a talker."

"I just wanted to talk to you," Ashley admitted. "But when you wouldn't even tell me your name, I figured that I shouldn't push you. I was content with those one sentenced Fridays."

"Me, too." Spencer gave her a big smile. "I'm sorry I wasn't up front with you."

Ashley shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it. I understand. I'm really sorry that I didn't recognize you when we were reunited. You just look so different. I was used to that adorable girl with those adorable glasses that kept slipping off that adorable nose." She poked Spencer on the nose with her finger and Spencer blushed a deep red.

"I was _not_ adorable," Spencer denied vehemently still blushing hardcore.

"Yeah, I beg to differ. You know how many times I had to restrain myself from not taking you into my arms and squeezing the life out of you?"

Spencer looked at her incredulously. "Okay, now you're making shit up."

"Am not!" Ashley said holding her hand up like she was on trial. They both broke out into a fit of giggles and Ashley took a hold of Spencer's hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. "You know, when you wouldn't tell me your name, I tried to look for you in the yearbook. You know how hard it is to find someone by face in a high school as big as King?"

Spencer smiled at her. "I imagine pretty hard considering I never went to yearbook picture day the first three years of high school. I only went Senior year because it was required."

"That's why I couldn't find you?"

"Yeah, and I only appear once in the Senior one so it would be impossible to find me unless you looked through every single row and column. Or if you knew my name," she said cheekily.

Ashley smiled and continued to rub Spencer's hand. It was sending Spencer all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings. "You know, I looked for you at graduation. I figured that was only way I could find out your name when they announced it but I never saw you."

Spencer smiled sadly. "Yeah, that's because I didn't go."

"What?"

"Yeah, my brother got into a really bad car accident that day, so we had to fly down to North Carolina." Spencer hated the fact she missed her high school graduation but there was nothing she could have done.

"That sucks."

"I know, but he fully recovered so that was a relief." Spencer looked down at the hand that Ashley was holding and realized that Ashley was moving hers up her arm. She shivered at the warm touch.

"I went back to the courtyard to see if you were there," Ashley said softly. Her hand was now on Spencer's shoulder making its way to her neck.

"You did?" Spencer's voice was as soft as Ashley's as she felt Ashley play with the hairs on the back of neck. Her eyes fluttered closed involuntarily.

"Yeah, I wanted you to sign my yearbook because that picture you took made it in and you know, I wanted to ask you out." Ashley was now gently pulling a very dazed Spencer closer to her.

"Really?" Spencer had no idea what she was saying. The combination of Ashley's husky voice and the feel of her fingers gently massaging the back of her neck had her completely lost.

"Yeah, and you know, do this." Ashley finally closed the gap between their lips and Spencer's eyes sprung open in response. In only took about a half a second for Spencer to realize that Ashley was kissing her and she responded by kissing her back. Ashley's lips were soft and tasted like raspberry. The same taste that she tasted on her Orange Crush bottle those many years ago. Spencer deepened the kiss and tangled her fingers in Ashley's hair pulling her closer. Six years of wanting nothing but to do this made Spencer a little more aggressive than she usually was.

They pulled apart very flustered and very out of breath. "Wow," Ashley said looking into Spencer's now very dark eyes. "You know how long I've been wanting to do that?"

Spencer grinned and pulled Ashley back to her. "Probably as long as I much as I wanted to do this." She crashed their lips together once more and fell backwards against the couch with Ashley right on top of her.

Ashley laughed into the kiss. "Why Spencer," she said pulling back slightly and hovering over her. "This isn't the same girl I remember back in high school."

_Why is she still talking?_ Spencer grabbed her shirt and pulled her back down. "Shut up and kiss me."

---


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve_

Spencer couldn't remember a time when she had been so happy and content. Having spent the past hour (felt like five) making out with Ashley certainly put a permanent smile on her face. She definitely wanted to do more but Spencer figured it wasn't that great of an idea to have sex with Ashley shortly after their first kiss six years later. Not to mention she didn't want her first time with Ashley to be in the backroom of their studio. She's pretty sure Casey and Sally have done it in here and that thought completely grossed her out.

The couch they were currently laying on wasn't that big so Spencer had half her body on the couch and half on Ashley. Her head was Ashley's shoulder and her leg over Ashley's legs. Ashley had her arm wrapped around Spencer playing with her hair. Spencer was tracing her finger over Ashley's chest, occasionally fiddling with the pick necklace she wore.

It wasn't exactly a real guitar pick but a piece of sterling silver shaped into one. It had the letters RCK engraved in it in script lettering.

"RCK?" Spencer asked looking up Ashley.

Ashley had her eyes closed as she continued to play with her hair. "Raife, Christine, and Kyla," she answered opening her eyes and seeing the confused look on Spencer's face. She leaned down and kissed her forehead. "My parents gave it to me for my 13th birthday," she began explaining. "They were convinced that I was going to be some famous musician and have my name be known all over the world, so they got me this necklace with my dad's, mom's, and sister's initials engraved into it. They said it's to remind me that wherever life takes me, they want me to always remember where I came from." She finished her explanation with a smile on her face.

"That's really sweet." Spencer returned the smile and leaned up to kiss her. _I'm kissing Ashley Davies. I feel like I should break into song._ "I've always wanted to ask you that." She laid her head back on her shoulder.

"Oh really? What else have you always wanted to ask me?"

_Now there's a dangerous question._ "When did you realize I was the girl in the courtyard?" She looked up Ashley curiously. It was something she wanted to know for a while.

"When you offered me your Orange Crush that night the four of us ate dinner here."

"Really?"

Ashley pushed a strand of hair away Spencer's face. "Yeah, it was like I was thrown back in time and I couldn't believe it."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Spencer asked teasingly.

Ashley pulled their already close bodies even closer. "Because I was all in shock and not to mention I didn't want to completely freak you out with my sudden eureka moment," she explained. "And I was kind of curious on why you didn't tell me in the first place."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Spencer said looking down.

"Hey," Ashley lifted her chin up. "Don't do that, I completely understand why you did it. I'm sorry that high school was so horrible for you," she told her quietly while looking her right in the eyes. "I wish I could've been there for you."

Spencer took Ashley's hand that holding her face and held it against her cheek. "You were," she kissed the inside of her hand. "Every Friday." She held Ashley's gaze with an intense stare.

"You have the prettiest eyes," Ashley told her and Spencer blushed so hard that she was pretty sure Ashley could feel the heat radiating from her skin.

"Thank you." _If she keeps looking at me like that, I will not be responsible for my actions._

"It just reminds me of this one song that has a lyric that goes, 'those eyes, truest baby blues, bluer than any single sky.' Your eyes are definitely the bluest of blue." Ashley continued to stare into Spencer's eyes and Spencer completely got lost in hers.

She didn't know what else to do and the look Ashley was giving her was completely making her melt inside so she buried her face into Ashley's shoulder. "Stop that," she said, her voice muffled against Ashley's skin.

"Stop what?" Ashley asked giggling at Spencer's behavior.

"Looking at me like that."

"Looking at you like what?" she teased.

"You know what I mean!" Spencer still had her face buried in Ashley's shoulder and was smiling against her.

Ashley didn't say anything for a while so Spencer finally came out of hiding. Ashley was still smiling at her with the goofiest of grins. "You're so cute, you know that?"

"Seriously, Ashley, if you keep saying things like that, my face will permanently stay red." She poked her in the stomach and she jumped. "Oh, is someone ticklish?" Spencer had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"No!" Ashley tried to move so she wasn't completely under Spencer.

"Yes, you are!" Spencer poked her again and Ashley let out a little yelp.

"Spencer!"

Spencer started tickling Ashley and had her in a laughing fit. She had a pretty good advantage since Ashley was lying beneath her but she soon found herself on her back with Ashley straddling her. _Now, how the hell did that happen?_ Ashley managed to grab her wrists and pinned them against the couch over her head. How things managed to go from playful to sexual was completely beyond Spencer as she stared at the girl hovering above her.

"Now, are you going to behave?" Ashley asked her in a low voice. Her eyes were a lot darker now.

"Maybe." Spencer was beyond turned on. "Are you going to let me go?"

Ashley grinned, still holding on to Spencer's wrists tightly. "Hm, I kind of like you like this." She licked her lips. "Beneath me." She leaned down and captured Spencer's lips with hers. Like everything else that was currently going on between them, this kiss was intense and deep. Ashley let go of her wrists and let her hands wander Spencer's body.

Spencer was on fire. She didn't think she'd ever get used to Ashley's lips on hers especially since those lips were now making their way to Spencer's neck. Ashley sucked her pulse point and Spencer let out a low moan. The combination of Ashley's talented mouth and her hand that was currently inching its way up Spencer's shirt made Spencer completely dazed and very disoriented. She didn't even hear the front door opening.

"Seriously, Spencer, learn how to answer your frigging ph-" Casey stopped when she was the sight before her. "Whoa."

Ashley quickly jumped off of Spencer and stood up. Spencer, still a little dizzy, looked up trying to figure out why exactly Ashley stopped and then turned bright red at the sight of her best friend. "Casey! I thought you were going home." Spencer also stood up and straightened out her shirt while stealing a quick glance at Ashley. She too was blushing like an idiot.

Casey smirked at the two of them. "I was but I kept on getting phone calls from your mom."

"My mom?" Spencer squeaked. _Why the hell is she calling Casey?_

"Yeah, apparently she was worried about you considering you haven't been returning any of her phone calls." Casey leaned against the doorframe and grinned. "So I take it the two of you worked things out?"

Spencer and Ashley exchanged looks and smiled. "You can say that. Oh, you can also show yourself out." Spencer also spoke with her eyes. "If you embarrass me, I'll kick your ass."

Casey chose to ignore this and continued to torture her. She was about to open her mouth when Sally appeared at her side.

"Hey, did you tell her?" Sally asked her girlfriend unaware of what was just transpiring.

"Tell me what?" Spencer asked curiously.

Sally looked at Spencer and finally noticed Ashley there. She also noticed the smudged lip gloss, the frazzled hair, and the messy clothes. "And what do we have here?"

_Do those two practice those smug smirks in the mirror?_ "Tell me what?" Spencer repeated annoyed. She didn't really need an audience right now.

"Oh, yeah, since you wouldn't return your mom's calls, she thought it'd be necessary to check up on you personally. And the last I checked she was just at your apartment," Casey told her.

_Shit, if she was just at my apartment, the next place she'd check would be-_

"SPENCER CARLIN! WHERE HAVE YOU'VE BEEN?" Paula Carlin stormed into the backroom (knocking both Casey and Sally out of the way) and grabbed her daughter in a fierce hug. Spencer had no time to react as her mom squeezed the life out of her.

"Mom, I can't breathe!"

Paula pulled away and grabbed Spencer's face checking her over. "Why haven't you returned my calls? I've been worried sick thinking something bad happened to you. I had to call Casey and Sally to make sure you were okay." While she said all this, Paula poked and prodded every part of Spencer's body to make sure she was in fact still in one piece.

"Mom!" Spencer grabbed her hands to stop her from poking her. It was starting to hurt and she was beyond embarrassed at this point. "I'm fine!"

"Then why haven't you called?" Her voice shrieked. Worried Paula was a shrieky Paula.

"Sorry Paula, Spencer's been a bit busy," Casey said from the behind her and indicated towards Ashley.

Spencer sent her a glare of all glares. _Wow, I'm going to beat her with a baseball bat._ Paula looked over Spencer's shoulder and saw Ashley standing there very nervously.

"And who's this?" Paula asked. It was like someone flipped a switch and she went from worried mother to very interested and prying into her daughter's love life mother.

Spencer winced and turned to face Ashley. Ashley looked so cute when she was nervous. "Mom, this is Ashley," she started calmly.

Ashley walked over to the pair and held out her hand to Paula. "Hi, Mrs. Carlin nice to meet you."

Paula shook it with an excited force. "Ashley, it's very nice to meet you, too." She had a crazed look in her eye that Spencer have seen every single time she met a girl she was dating. _Not that I'm dating Ashley. Wait am I?_ "Spencer didn't tell me she had a girlfriend." _Oh God!_

"Mom!" Spencer interjected.

"What? Am I not allowed to know the girl my daughter is dating?" Paula turned to Ashley and gave her a huge grin.

Ashley just smiled and blushed. Spencer looked down at the ground hoping it would the earth would open and swallow her whole. It didn't help that Casey and Sally were snickering in the background. _Great, Ashley and I just barely started and now my mother is thinking we're going to get married or something. I don't even know what me and Ashley are yet!_

"My daughter is a very lucky girl to catch such a beauty like you," Paula continued.

_Oh my God! She's not a fish!_

Ashley smiled again and looked over at Spencer. "I don't know Mrs. Carlin. I think I'm the lucky one."

_Okay, earth, swallow me whole but make sure Ashley comes with me._

---


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter Thirteen_

Spencer watched as her mother eyed Ashley up and down examining her. She always called this her Terminator stare because Spencer had the crazy notion that all Paula saw was Ashley's statistics in her brain; height, age, weight and whether to terminate or not.

"So, Ashley," Paula said her name as if she knew her for years. "How long have you and my Spencer been dating?"

_Crap, crap, crap._ Ashley looked over Spencer and just smiled. "Um, actually, Spencer and I have known each other since high school."

"Really?" Paula eyed her daughter curiously. "How come you've never mentioned her?"

"Mom, don't you and dad have stuff to do?" Spencer was officially done with this interrogation and started to push her mom out the door. She shoulder checked Casey and Sally just for good measure.

"But-"

"Seriously mom, I'm sorry I didn't call, but as you can see I'm fine." She stopped when she was right at the front door. "Tell dad I said hi."

Paula pulled Spencer into a hug. "You should bring Ashley by to dinner. I'm sure your father would love to meet her."

_Let me get to second base first._ "Sure mom, drive safe."

"Pick up your phone when I call you, Spencer," she told her seriously then gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye." She waved to Casey and Sally. "Bye girls! And it was nice meeting you, Ashley."

"You, too, Mrs. Carlin." Ashley said politely.

"Oh honey, call me Paula." _Just as long it's not mom._ With one last hug, Paula finally left.

Spencer let out a sigh of relief. _Fuck, Casey and Sally._ She quickly made her way back to the backroom where Casey and Sally looked like they were about to ask Ashley questions.

"So, you guys an item now?" Casey asked Ashley once Spencer entered the room. _An item? What are we at the grocery store?_

"Hey Casey," Spencer said seriously and Casey looked at her curiously. "Do me a favor? Set your face on fire and have Sally put it out with a shovel."

Ashley laughed at Spencer's threat. Spencer was absolutely adorable when she looked homicidal. "On that note, I have to go."

Spencer turned around and almost pouted. "You do? I'm sorry about all this with my mom and these two idiots. I can make them leave."

"I'd like to see you try," Casey said.

Ashley smiled and walked up to Spencer putting both her hands on her face. "Don't worry about that, your mom seems really nice. I just lost track of time and I promised I'd meet my sister for dinner." She gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Oh," Spencer blushed and leaned in for another kiss. Not even the stupid "aw's" and "how cute" coming from Casey and Sally were bothering her. "When can I see you again?" _Crap, hopefully that didn't sound too needy._

"Well, if you're not too busy tomorrow, maybe you can meet me at the recording studio around lunch time?"

"That sounds good," Spencer threw her arms Ashley's neck and kissed her again. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Wait, are we recording tomorrow?" Sally suddenly asked.

Ashley didn't take her eyes off Spencer as she answered Sally's question. "No, I'm working tomorrow remember?"

"Oh yeah." _God, Sally's blonde. Even I knew Ashley worked at the studio and Sally sees her more than I do. Lucky whore._

"So I should go," Ashley said but made no attempt of letting go of Spencer.

"You should, Kyla's waiting."

"Uh huh," Ashley was dazed as she continued to stare into Spencer's eyes.

"Alright you two, you're making us nauseous," Casey pretended to gag as Sally tied a pretend noose around her neck.

Turning around, Spencer sent them both a glare. "Oh, doesn't it just suck when people act all coupley in front of you ALL THE TIME?"

"Touché."

Spencer walked Ashley to her car and wrapped her arms around her again. She just couldn't stop touching her.

"It looks like we're going to have some competition in the PDA department," Ashley said leaning against her car and pulled Spencer to her.

"I don't mind." Spencer leaned in for what she thought would be their goodbye kiss but it turned out to be a little make out session. Only when Ashley's phone started ringing was when they finally pulled apart.

"Crap, that's Kyla. Now I really have to go," Kissing her one last time, Ashley finally let go of Spencer and got into her car. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told her through the open window.

"See you, tomorrow." Spencer watched as Ashley drove down the street and stayed there until her taillights were out of sight. She let out a happy sigh still not quite believing what just happened the past few hours. After so many years of dreaming of being with Ashley, Spencer couldn't believe that it was actually happening.

_Life can't get any better._

"So did you two do the nasty?" _Spoke too soon._

Spencer turned around to see both Casey and Sally standing in front of her with the stupidest of grins. "Don't you guys have some role playing to do or something?" Spencer asked dismissively as she made her way back into the studio with Casey and Sally following her.

"Yeah, but we need the details on what happened so we can play the two of you," Sally said cheekily.

"Gross! Seriously guys, what the hell is wrong you?" Spencer always shuddered at the thought of Casey and Sally many kinky games but to involve her and Ashley made her want to gauge her mind's eyes.

"We're just joking sheesh, but no seriously what happened between the two of you. The last I checked you weren't even returning her calls."

Spencer smiled just thinking of the time she spent with Ashley in this room. She went to her computer and started saving the projects that she had opened. Not that there was much to save considering she was making out with Ashley when she should've been working. _Oops, but aw, look how cute she looks._ Spencer reluctantly closed a window that had clip of Ashley's smiling face on it.

"Did you even work on the EPK?" Casey asked looking her shoulder.

"No, but come on, we're not even done shooting it, so there's no rush." Spencer had to stop herself from clicking on another clip just to see Ashley again. _Oh my God, you just saw her two minutes ago. Get a hold of yourself, Carlin!_

"You do know we have other projects besides this, and I can't have you drooling all over our good computer every single time you work on this," Casey said seriously.

Spencer turned around and gave her friend a reassuring look. "Don't worry, Case. You know I'm a professional. I'm just really, really happy." She couldn't help it, she was practically glowing.

Casey and Sally both smiled at her. "We know, so you know what this calls for right?"

Spencer widened her eyes with fear. "Oh God, guys please don't!"

"SPENCER SANDWICH!" They both exclaimed and grabbed Spencer into a hug. Casey hugged her from the front while Sally hugged her from behind. They both squeezed as tight as they could while Spencer tried desperately to free herself.

"Guys! Seriously, aren't we too old for this?" Spencer tried to push them off her but they were holding on too tight.

"Not for a Spencer sandwich," Casey said.

_My friends are so lame._

-----

Spencer fumbled in the dark trying to find her ringing cell phone. She knocked almost everything off her side table before she found the vibrating electronic and flipped it open without even bothering to look at the call ID.

"Hello?" she slurred.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Spencer smiled at the sound of Ashley's voice and looked at her clock. It was almost one in the morning. "No, it's okay, I was just thinking about you."

"Thinking about me, huh? But weren't you just sleeping?" Spencer could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Okay, I was dreaming about you, and just like magic you called." Ashley laughed softly. "So, is there a reason why you're calling me at this hour or did you just miss me too much?" Spencer asked teasingly.

"Well, I was working on a song before bed and I got stuck so I thought I'd call my muse."

Spencer rubbed the sleep from her eyes and smiled. "And how may I be of service?" _Oh, that's dirty._

"What rhymes with 'Spencer Carlin is the most beautiful girl in the world and I just want to hold her forever.'?"

Spencer was glad she was on the phone otherwise Ashley would see her goofy grin and very bright red face. "How about 'Ashley Davies is the sweetest girl in the world and I wish I could kiss her right now'?"

"Hm, I think we've got something here," Ashley giggled and Spencer closed her eyes picturing her and the way Ashley's nose crinkled when she smiled. "Hey do you remember that one Friday when I played you that new song that I wrote?"

"Yes," Spencer remembered all their Fridays.

Ashley had sat down looking a little frustrated and Spencer almost asked her what was wrong but kept her mouth shut. Ashley took out her guitar and started strumming almost angrily before she stopped and let out a frustrated sigh.

Spencer tried to eat her sandwich but all she wanted to do was wipe away that frown that was on Ashley's face.

"Hey, Euterpe," Ashley said sweetly and Spencer looked up. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Su-sure." _What does she want me to do? I'll do anything._

Ashley smiled. "Do you mind listening to this song I just wrote? I tried to play it for the music teacher but he didn't seem like he gave a damn. And then I tried to play it for some other people but they told me to shut the hell up, and I'd really like it if you'd give it a listen."

_She wants me to listen to her song? She's going to sing for me directly?_

"I'd love to."

"Thank you," Ashley smiled at her sweetly and started strumming. "Um, it's not that polished so forgive the little mistakes," she said while playing the intro. Ashley started to sing and Spencer was a goner.

The music was absolutely beautiful and the lyrics were so heartfelt. It wasn't like all those acoustic songs with those really cheesy or clichéd lyrics. It was very unique and original and not to mention Ashley's voice was that of an angel. Once Ashley was done, she looked at Spencer expectantly and bit her lip.

"Wo-wow, that was um, that was, just, um wow." _You're SO articulate._

"Is that a good thing?" Ashley asked nervously.

"Definitely go-good. I really liked it. It was amazing," Spencer managed to get out.

"I'm really glad you like it, then." Ashley gave her this look that she couldn't quite read. She was about to say something when the bell rang. "I'll see you later." She smiled at her one more time and then left the courtyard.

"I really liked that song you played for me," Spencer said to Ashley on the phone. It was one of her favorite Fridays.

"Well, that's good considering I wrote it for you."

"What?" _She's so did not._

"Yeah, that's why I wanted other people to hear it so they can tell me if it was good. I really wanted to play it for you but I wanted to make sure it didn't suck and so when everyone turned me away, I got a little frustrated. But I really wanted you to hear it so I played it for you anyway."

Spencer actually had to hold her chest because she felt like her heart was about to burst out of it. That song was possibly the most beautiful song she had ever heard and it was written for her. Ashley wrote that song for her.

"Spencer?" Ashley asked worried. Spencer hadn't spoken a word since her little confession.

"You're amazing," Spencer said getting choked up.

"You're what's amazing, Spencer."

Spencer smiled and she hoped Ashley could hear it her voice. "Goodnight, Ashley."

"Goodnight, Euterpe. Sweet dreams."

Spencer hung up and stared at her ceiling. _Sweet dreams, indeed._

---


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter Fourteen_

Casey had officially forbid Spencer from editing the EPK. Having caught her re-watching a clip of Ashley five times in a row, Casey had to practically push Spencer away from the computer so they could actually get some work done. Spencer was now in charge of editing mundane projects such as boring commercials.

Spencer happily clicked and typed away on her computer completely oblivious to everything around her. She was happy. Genuinely happy. So happy that she found herself singing while she was working

"I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, anytime night or day. Only trouble is-JESUS!" Spencer turned her chair around and found Casey leaning against the doorframe with a very amused look.

"Were you just _singing_?" She asked incredulously.

"No," Spencer denied but she was turning red. "I was just humming along to a song I have stuck in my head." _Wow, that was pathetic._ Spencer got up and went to where they kept their discs that had all their footage. She wasn't exactly looking for something but avoiding Casey's gaze.

"You were totally singing. God, you've got it bad. I hope you're actually working and not drooling over those clips of Ashley. Do I have to password protect them?" Casey asked somewhat jokingly but she was afraid she might have to.

"Oh please, I'd figure it out anyways. Your password for everything is yours and Sally's anniversary. And yes, I'm working. I'm done with that lame ass car commercial." Spencer went back to her computer and started to save the project.

"It may be lame, but Mr. Atwood pays good money for what he wants. And here these came for you again," Casey handed Spencer a vase of daisies. The entire backroom was filled with them. Ashley had been sending her a bouquet every day the past week.

"Aw, she's so cute," Spencer cooed smelling the flowers.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you've got that girl eating out the palm of your hand. And you say Sally's whipped. Look at this place!" Casey indicated the room that had all daisies and the occasional teddy bear that Spencer just had to display.

"What? She's a romantic." Spencer put the vase right next to the teddy bear and smiled. "You're just jealous that Sally doesn't get you flowers anymore." She stuck her tongue out at her.

"Oh please, Sally gives me something else." Spencer cringed. "Speaking of, have you and Ashley fucked yet?" Casey asked bluntly.

Spencer let out a frustrated groan. Every single time she came into work after having a date with Ashley the night before, Casey always asked if they've had sex yet. It was getting tiresome.

"Casey, I really don't see how my sex life is any of your business." _Or lack thereof_

Casey gave her a look. "So not yet then?"

Spencer didn't say anything and continued to fret with the flowers. "We've only been going out for like two weeks."

"That's never stopped you before," Casey pointed out. "What's going on with you two?"

"We're happy," Spencer said with a smile.

"And I'm happy for you, but have you guys decided if you're exclusive or is there still a little room to play?"

_I only want to play with Ashley._ Spencer bit her lip. "No, we haven't talked about it yet. I don't even know if we're girlfriends, I'm just happy with things right now. And she's happy. So stop pressing the sex issue, Casey."

Casey held up her hands. "Sorry, I just want you to be happy."

"I am." Spencer reiterated.

"Good," Casey said smiling. "But seriously, this place looks like a greenhouse."

Spencer laughed and went back to her computer. She moved the mouse and then frowned. "Shit."

"What's the matter?"

"The fucking software crashed on me. Shit! I don't know if that saved." Spencer frantically looked through her files.

"Did you back it up on a disk?" Casey asked worried as she took a seat next to Spencer.

"I don't know!" Spencer typed and clicked on the computer but the screen suddenly went blank. "Fuck!" She put her head in her hands and seethed. "Casey, all our files are on this. All our projects and everything." Her voice was calm but Casey knew that's how Spencer spoke right before she had a meltdown.

"Spencer, calm down. I know you and I know you _always_ back up our files. So take a deep breath, and try to focus." Casey put a comforting hand on Spencer's shoulder.

Spencer did just that and looked up at the computer screen. It suddenly went back to normal and all their files were still intact. The project was also saved. "Oh, thank God." Spencer quickly saved it on a DVD and gave it to Casey. "Seriously, Casey, we really need to buy a new computer and new software. You know how many times this crashed on us?"

Casey took the disc from Spencer. "I know, Spencer, but we spent most of our savings on the new camera equipment, and the rest went to pay for the utilities and the rent on this place. And you know, we just don't have enough in the funds." Casey looked at her sympathetically.

Spencer scratched her head in frustration. "I know. Good thing we have all those projects booked later on, right?" She took a look at their work calendar and frowned when she saw that Casey had drawn three red X's on it. "What's this?" She asked holding up the calendar.

"Um, we lost three of our clients," Casey said sadly.

"What? How, I mean can they do that?"

"Yeah, they technically haven't signed the contract yet so they can do whatever hell they want," Casey said bitterly.

"That's bullshit." Spencer studied the calendar again. "And these were huge projects too. Did they give a reason on why they canceled?"

"No, and I tried to talk to them but they wouldn't listen."

Spencer threw the calendar across the room. "This sucks. We just lost like thousands dollars worth of business."

"I know, but we still have other projects. And the EPK check hasn't even come in yet, and that's a huge project right there." Casey hated to see Spencer so upset about the money. Film was suppose to be their passion not their grief. "Cheer up, Spencer, we'll make it through. And if not, we do have other means of getting money. We're not completely broke."

"I know," Spencer offered her a weak smile. "Hey, I'm going to take my lunch break right now, you okay over here?"

Casey looked around. It was pretty dead. They barely got any calls today. "Yeah, I'm fine. Go see your girl," she said winking.

"Thanks, Casey." Spencer left the studio and drove to Davies Records. _Seeing Ashley will definitely cheer me up._

Spencer greeted the receptionist at the front desk and made her way to the elevators. As she was waiting for the lift to arrive on to the designated floor, Spencer couldn't help but think about the current money situation her and Casey were in. She knew that owning a small film production was going to be hard but her and Casey always managed. Now it seems like clients were dropping like flies for no apparent reason. They've had clients cancel on them before but losing three of their biggest ones in a span of one week? Something was definitely going on.

The doors slid open and Spencer made her way to one of the many recording booths. _I bet this place never has money problems. Man, what would it be like to own a studio like this._ Spencer slowly opened the door and smiled at the sight of Ashley behind a soundboard. There was a band recording and Ashley seemed to be the producer on their album. _Aw, my little music mongrel_

Ashley stopped the playback and spoke into the mic. "Okay, guys that was good but Liza you kind of went off note there. Sing it again but an octave lower, okay?" Liza gave her a thumbs up.

Spencer went behind Ashley and spoke into her ear. "You're really bossy."

Ashley jumped. "Shit, Spencer, when did you get here?" She smiled at her before giving her a kiss. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I know, I thought I'd surprise you but looks like you're working." Spencer started to play with the bottom of Ashley shirt. She could never keep her hands off her when she saw her.

"No, no, don't worry about it." Ashley turned to the guy who was sitting next to her at the soundboard. "Take over, Kenny."

"Sure thing, boss."

Ashley led them out of the studio and into her room. "So, what brings you by?" Ashley had barely closed the door before Spencer had her against one the couches and was kissing her. "Whoa, someone's feisty," she said pulling away slightly. She looked into Spencer's eyes and sensed something wasn't quite right. "What's wrong?"

_How does she do that?_ "No-nothing's wrong," Spencer lied looking down.

Ashley lifted her chin up. "Spence, what's wrong?" she asked again sincerely.

Spencer sighed and sat down properly on the couch, but Ashley pulled her so she was sitting on her lap. "We're just losing a few clients over at the studio, and our funds are kind of taking a hit."

"I'm sorry," Ashley pulled her into a hug and put her chin on Spencer's shoulder. "Can I do anything?"

Spencer smiled. "No. Just seeing you makes me feel a lot better." She turned her head and gave Ashley a kiss.

"Well, I don't know if this will help, but Sally and I are going to have our first official gig this Saturday, and I would really love it if you came."

"Like I'd miss it," Spencer said running her finger down Ashley's nose.

Ashley bit her lip nervously. "I'd love it if you came as my girlfriend."

_Wait, what?_ "As your girlfriend?" Spencer asked thinking she heard wrong.

"Yeah, I mean we've been going out for some time now and you know I want to be with you every minute of everyday. And when we're not together, I miss you. Even if I've just seen you. You're all I think about and I want you to be all mine." Ashley finished her little ramble and looked at Spencer expectantly and a bit anxious.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend," Spencer said smiling. _I'm her girlfriend!_

Ashley gave her one of her full-blown nose-crinkling smile. "I've got the world's best girlfriend."

Spencer giggled and tackled her down on the couch. "No, _I've_ got the world's best girlfriend. And don't argue or I'll be forced to take some bodily action." Ashley just grinned and pulled Spencer down for a kiss.

_Hopefully those clients aren't the only ones that will be screwing me._

---


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter Fifteen_

What Spencer was doing at the studio on a Saturday night, an hour before she was going to see her girlfriend perform, was beyond her. Actually Manny had called her earlier freaking out that he forgot to turn off the lights before he left the studio. He couldn't come back to check because he had already lent his car to his sister. Spencer was still furious with Casey for rehiring him behind her back. The guy was as useful as a condom on prom night.

Not only had Manny forget to turn the lights off, he also forgot to lock the doors and put the books away. The last thing they needed was their electrical bill to go up and their place robbed. Spencer shook her head frustrated as she put the books away but stopped when her eyes skimmed over their latest numbers.

It wasn't good. Losing those clients definitely took a hit on their funds considering they had just purchased new equipment and hired a few more workers. The other projects just couldn't settle out the differences. Spencer sat down and let out a long sigh. _What the hell are we going to do if we can't get more projects?_ Spencer looked over the numbers again. _We can just cut back on certain things. Use a smaller film crew, switch back to handheld, fire Manny. Damn that fucker._

"What are you doing here?"

Spencer didn't even bother to look up when she heard Casey's voice.

"Your puppy dog called me."

"Oh, he left a message on my phone about the lights? I guess when he couldn't reach me, he called you."

"Seriously, Casey, he forgot to lock the doors. Why is he still working here?" Spencer spun around and stared at her friend angrily.

"I have a soft spot for animated cartoon characters?" Casey said meekly and shrugged. She knew Spencer was mad at something else other than Manny. "And God, why is it so cold in here?" She ran her hands up and down her bare arms and went to the thermostat. "Geez, it's 55 degrees in here. Did Manny also turn off the heat?"

_Frigging Californians._ Spencer had to admit it was a bit chilly in the studio but thought nothing of it.

"I think the furnace is broken," Casey announced while she put her hand on a vent that was on the wall. "It's blowing out cold air. I call someone on Monday."

Spencer went back to the books and sighed again. "Don't bother. That's going to cost a lot of money and right now we have none to spend. So I suggest you bring a hoodie to work."

Casey walked up behind Spencer and put her hands on her shoulder. "Spence, it's going to be okay. I mean if worse comes to worse, I can always just use my money to pay for some of the expenses."

Spencer immediately shot the idea down. "No, Casey. That's _your_ money, I would never allow you to use it just because we hit a bump in the road. We'll manage." She shut the books and put them back where they belonged. Casey was loaded. Unlike Spencer, who was still paying off her student loans, Casey was pretty much financially set for the rest of her life. Her parents were rich and had set up a trust fund for Casey. Her mother was an interior designer and her father and stepfather were both lawyers. It was Casey's money that gave them the opportunity to start their little company and despite all of Casey's refusals, Spencer was adamant on paying every cent of that back. They were partners. They did everything equally.

"We're going to spend the money that people give us for doing our jobs." Spencer ran her hand through her hair. Casey looked at her a little worried. "I'm fine. So let's get to the club and watch our very hot girlfriends serenade us." _Hee, my girlfriend._

Casey smiled at the goofy expression that Spencer just had. "Let's go then. I want to get there a little early because Sally gets really nervous. And you know, I know how to calm her down." She gave Spencer a wink.

"Gross." Spencer turned off the lights and locked up the studio. She lightly traced their production name that was etched on the glass door. _We're going to be okay._

-----

The club was filled with people once Spencer and Casey arrived. They had to push pass everyone just to make it to the stage where they found Ashley tuning her guitar.

"Hey!" Spencer greeted. She suddenly was bouncy when she saw her girlfriend.

Ashley put her guitar down and jumped off the stage. She took Spencer in her arms and gave her a huge kiss hello before pulling back. "Hi."

"Hi." Spencer repeated and smiled. She had her arms wrapped around her neck and Ashley had her arms around Spencer's waist, lifting her slightly off the ground.

"Where's Sally?" Casey asked.

"In the dressing room freaking out," Ashley supplied.

Casey grinned. "That's my cue, see you later." With that, she disappeared backstage.

"This is a nice crowd," Spencer said once Casey left.

"Yeah," Ashley held Spencer tighter.

"You nervous?"

"Nervous?" Ashley said in mock defense. "Ashley Davies does not get nervous." _She's so cute._ Spencer tilted her head and gave her a look. "Okay, maybe I'm a little nervous," she admitted. "But you're here now, so I have nothing to worry about." She kissed Spencer on her nose.

"That's right. I'll be right in the front row so you can see me." She gave her a big smile.

"So, I was thinking," Ashley started while lightly scratching Spencer's back where her shirt and jacket had ridden up. "That after this, we can go get dinner, you know, with the two nymphos." Spencer chuckled. "And then maybe later," Ashley lightly slipped her fingers in the waistband of Spencer's jeans. Spencer's breath hitched. "We can go back to my place and you can spend the night." She looked at Spencer like she was about to devour her. "Does that sound good?" she asked softly while moving her fingers further south. They were making their way to Spencer's front.

"Um," _Alright, Spencer, you can do this. Open your mouth and start talking. Ashley just pretty much said that she wants to have sex with you tonight so answer her before you spontaneously combust._ "That sounds really good," Spencer managed to breathe out.

Ashley grinned and pulled Spencer impossibly closer not even caring that they were tons of people around. She now moved her hands from Spencer's jeans and rested them on her hips. "Good," she whispered in her ear. "Because after this show, I have every intention of giving you a private one." She licked the shell of Spencer's ear and Spencer let out a soft moan.

"Davies, Jenkins?" Ashley looked up and saw the club employees motioning to her. "You're on in five."

Ashley nodded her head and went back to Spencer who was still very dazed. "Wish me luck."

Spencer kissed her deeply. "Good luck."

Casey and Sally stumbled out looking very flushed. Spencer cringed as she saw Casey wipe her mouth and Sally adjusting her belt.

"All set?" Ashley asked amused.

"Yeah!" Sally was all jumpy now. "Let's blow them away." Ashley laughed as they both made their way back on the stage.

Spencer just shook her head and followed Casey through the crowd. They found a very good spot right in front of and had a perfect view. "So I take it that you calmed her down?" Spencer asked.

Casey smiled and licked her lips. "Oh, yeah."

"Do me a favor? Don't breathe on me."

Casey laughed as the lights in the club grew dim. The crowd suddenly drew its attention the stage. A spotlight shown and the owner of the club took the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Ashley and Sally!" There was a halfhearted applause and two very loud ones.

Spencer turned to Casey. "They couldn't think of a band name?"

Casey finished applauding and shrugged. "Yeah, they can write pages and pages of music, but when it comes to something as a simple as a name, they're pretty much clueless."

Spencer laughed and turned her attention back to the stage. Ashley and Sally looked completely in their element with their guitars on, behind mics, and a spotlight shining on both of them.

"Hey, everyone," Ashley started. "Glad you can come out. We're going to singing a few songs we wrote and a few covers. Here's something a little up beat." Ashley kept her intro short and turned so her and Sally were facing each other with their guitars. Spencer heard Ashley count to four and they both started strumming their guitars in an up-tempo beat. The intro went on for a few measures before they both returned to their mics and Sally started singing the first verse.

Casey started to whoop and holler. "You're sexy!" she screamed. Spencer laughed as she watched Sally smile while she was singing. "Isn't my girlfriend so hot?" Casey asked her but Spencer was looking at Ashley.

"Not as hot as mine," Spencer smiled when Ashley made eye contact with her from the stage. The chorus started and both girls sang in perfect harmony. They both closed their eyes as they sang. The second verse was sung by Ashley and all her attention went straight to Spencer.

Spencer was suddenly thrown back to that courtyard when it was just her and Ashley. The crowd suddenly disappeared, the lights faded away, and all Spencer could see was Ashley sitting in that courtyard singing to her.

_I'm going to be the luckiest girl tonight._

---


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter Sixteen_

Ashley and Sally were an absolute hit at the club. The crowd enjoyed their melodic acoustic sound and their witty banter between songs. Spencer never realized just how close Ashley and Sally had gotten while working together. Their friendship reminded her so much of hers and Casey's friendship. _Funny, how these things turn out._

Throughout the performance, Ashley and Sally were both asked their hands in marriage by the rowdy guys in the crowd. Of course they turned them down by saying that they were in very happy relationships and were in fact very gay. That earned a bunch of "that's so hot!" and "are your girlfriend's as sexy as you?" Spencer and Casey just smiled.

The night was winding down and Ashley announced that they had one more song to perform. "Okay, we're going to end the night with a cover of one of my favorite songs," she wiped her slightly sweaty forehead with her arm. "Don't forget to look for our debut album coming out later this month called 'Afternoons In The Park.'"

"Check out our website for details," Sally added. "AshleyandSally dot com."

"Those two and their shameless plugs," Casey said smiling.

"Hey, it's a great way to promote," Spencer kept her eyes on Ashley and was getting a little turned on by the way she was sweating. _God, I can't wait for tonight._

"Okay, I want to dedicate this song to someone very, very special," Ashley said while looking right at Spencer. Spencer was so glad no one knew who she was because she was blushing so hard. Ashley and Sally started to play the intro and Spencer immediately recognized the song. Her heart started to beat faster and the look Ashley was giving her didn't help any. Not that she minded.

"Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream," Ashley and Sally both started singing the first part of the song, then Ashley started off a solo.

"When I want you in my arms, when I want you and all your charms," her eyes never left Spencer's as she sang to her. "…I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, anytime night or day…"

"Hey, isn't this the song you were singing to yourself at work?" Casey asked her but Spencer was not paying attention.

Spencer continued to stare at her girlfriend with complete love in her eyes. _I'm so in love._

Ashley and Sally finished the song and the crowd exploded with applause and with screams of an encore. They thanked them, bowed, and then exited the stage. Spencer was still rooted to the spot, completely dazed.

"Spencer?" Casey waved a hand in front of her face. "Spencer!" she finally just slapped her on the back of the head.

"Fuck! Bitch, that hurt," Spencer said while rubbing her head.

"Well, you were going catatonic again, and I want to go backstage and kiss the life out of Sally."

Spencer smiled at the thought of kissing the life out Ashley. "That sounds good." Casey raised her eyebrow. "I mean, kissing the life out of Ashley, not Sally because that's ew, gross." _Shit, that didn't sound right._ "Well, obviously not gross to you, but gross to me because Sally's like a sister," Spencer continued to ramble on while Casey looked on very amused. "Fuck it, let's just go."

They made their way backstage where they found Ashley and Sally putting away their guitars. They both lit up when they saw them.

"You guys were amazing!" Casey said while running into Sally's arms.

Spencer followed suit and threw her arms around Ashley's neck. "Thank you for the dedication," she said quietly with her face close to Ashley's. She could see from her peripheral vision that Casey and Sally were already making out.

"You're very welcome," Ashley leaned in and gave her a kiss. "I kind of want to skip dinner." She pulled Spencer closer. "After that performance, I have all this energy inside of me that needs to be released."

Spencer could feel the heat radiate off her body and it turned her on like no other. "I highly doubt those two will care about dinner." Just as she said this, Casey and Sally pulled apart.

"Can we go now? I'm starving."

Spencer and Ashley rolled their eyes playfully. "I guess we have to wait," Ashley said, running a finger down Spencer's cheek. It made her shiver.

"I guess we do." _Casey and Sally better eat fast._

Dinner was absolutely crazy. Spencer couldn't remember a time when she enjoyed herself on double date with Casey and Sally. Usually her dates were so annoying and Spencer spent most of the night biting her tongue from saying something mean. But tonight, she was laughing and having a really good time. She knew all of it had to do with the girl sitting next to her. Spencer sometimes couldn't believe that Ashley Davies was her girlfriend. It was literally a dream come true.

Sally was in the middle of telling a story about how she saw some guy stick his hand down his pants when they were performing when Ashley suddenly stuck her hand right in between Spencer's legs. Spencer almost spit out her drink but managed to keep it in her mouth. She glanced over at Ashley but Ashley was still listening intently to Sally and was acting like nothing was happening.

Spencer took a deep breath as Ashley's hand started rubbing circles on her inner thigh. So close but still so far. _Is she trying to kill me?_ The restaurant was dimly lit and the table had a large table cloth over it so Ashley's little indiscretion could go unnoticed. Spencer had to bite her lip trying not to moan. The friction was driving her crazy and she was getting wetter and wetter. It wasn't very comfortable in tight jeans. Ashley wasn't letting up as her hand traveled further up and she was still listening and even adding to the conversation.

Spencer bit down so hard her lip that she tasted blood. Ashley finally cupped her center and she jumped causing the table to move and Casey and Sally to look at her very strangely.

"Are you okay, Spencer?" Casey asked raising her eyebrow.

Ashley finally stopped touching her and gave her a teasing look. "Yeah, Spencer, are you okay?"

Spencer glared at her. "I'm fine," she squeaked. "Just um, a muscle cramp." _Yeah, a muscle cramp. You're getting really bad at lying._

"Suurreee," Sally said unconvincingly but continued to tell her story.

Ashley put her arm around Spencer and pulled her close, whispering in her ear. "That was just a little preview."

_I can't wait for the feature presentation._

When the bill arrived, Spencer panicked. She couldn't pay her credit card bill for this month and she forgot to go the ATM earlier. She was going to try to discreetly get Casey's attention and ask her to help her out but Ashley already took out her credit card and handed the bill back to the waiter. Spencer suddenly felt a little weird watching Ashley pay for her.

"You ready to go?" Ashley asked holding her hand out to Spencer.

Spencer pushed the weird feeling out of her head and took Ashley's hand. "Yeah, I'm ready."

---

Ashley lived in a loft that looked like it came straight out of an episode of MTV Cribs. Spencer surveyed the place with wide eyes. It was absolutely beautiful. And huge. She guessed she could fit her entire apartment in Ashley's bathroom.

"You live here alone?" Spencer asked looking around.

Ashley stood behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Kyla used to live with me but she moved in with her boyfriend a few months ago." She put her chin on Spencer's shoulder. "Want a tour?"

Spencer smiled and nodded. Ashley didn't move but started to point things out. "That's the kitchen, living room, bathroom's back there, and over there," she led Spencer around a corner where she saw a massive king-sized bed. "Is my bedroom." Since it was a loft, there were no doors but Ashley had glass room dividers that separated her bedroom from the rest of the loft.

"It's a nice place," Spencer commented. Ashley still had her arms wrapped around her and was now sliding her hands up Spencer's shirt.

"Uh huh," Ashley turned her around so she was facing her. Spencer's eyes grew dark from the way Ashley was looking at her. Ashley moved her hands so it was in the inside of Spencer's jacket and slid it down her arms.

Spencer suddenly became nervous. _It's not like you haven't had sex before, so why are you suddenly freaking out?_

"You okay?" Ashley asked sensing something was wrong.

"Yea-yeah, I'm fine," Spencer said while pulling Ashley closer to her.

"You're shaking," Ashley pointed out, running her hands up and down Spencer's arms.

"It's because you make me feel all tingly all over," Spencer said smiling.

"Oh." Ashley leaned in and kissed her, tangling her hand in her hair.

The kiss was deep and passionate and it consumed every part of Spencer. Ashley led them back towards the bed and lowered Spencer gently down. She pulled apart and hovered slightly over Spencer. Spencer was breathing heavily as she stared right into Ashley's eyes.

"Spencer?" Ashley whispered softly, and ran her thumb across Spencer's swollen lips.

"Yeah?" Spencer tucked a strand of hair behind Ashley's ear.

Ashley bit her lip nervously. "I love you."

Spencer's heart skipped a beat. "I love you, too."

---

Spencer was on cloud nine as she walked into the studio. She didn't even care that it was Sunday and she wasn't technically suppose to be there. After her night with Ashley, she didn't think anything could burst her happy Ashley-filled bubble.

The night was perfect. Ashley was perfect. The sex was perfect. And hot. Spencer got shivers just thinking about it. She's never had sex that intense and sensual. When Ashley touched her, it felt like her entire body was free falling, but the crash never came. Ashley kept her on that high and never let her down. The cuddling afterwards was amazing as well. Spencer had concluded that there was no better feeling in the world than cuddling with Ashley Davies in her big warm bed. She'd shave her head if someone could come up with a better feeling.

"Gooood morning," Spencer greeted Casey who was already there. Casey didn't respond but was looking somberly over the books. _That can't be good._ "What's the matter? Did we lose another client?" Spencer asked worried.

Casey looked up. "No, but I do know what happened to the ones we lost."

"I thought they just decided not to do their projects anymore."

"No, they decided to take their business elsewhere," Casey said bitterly.

"What?" Spencer's good mood dissipated. "Everyone and their mom knows that we're the best indie film production in this city," Spencer started angrily.

"I know, Spence, but a new film production just opened and apparently they have better rates, better equipment, and a bigger crew." Casey braced herself.

Spencer scratched her head frustrated. "So some new film production is stealing our clients? Why can't they get their own if they're so much better than us?"

"That's the thing, we kind of know who owns that production," Casey took a deep breath.

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Who?"

Before Casey could answer, their front door opened. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Frick and Frack."

Spencer's blood froze. She knew that voice anywhere.

_Fuck._

---


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter Seventeen_

Spencer still hadn't turn around. She didn't need to. The look that Casey was giving over shoulder was enough to know who exactly was standing behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Casey spat.

"What? I'm not allowed to visit my old friends?"

Spencer finally turned around and glared at the one person that made her feel really homicidal. All she wanted to do was wipe that smug smile that adorned that bitchy face. "We're not friends, Kelly," Spencer said with venom.

Kelly smirked and took a step towards Spencer. "As I recall, we were more than friends." She ran her finger down Spencer's arm and Spencer slapped it away. "Oh, someone's a little feisty."

Spencer was so close to slapping her when she felt Casey's hand on her shoulder. "I ask again, what the hell are you doing here?" Casey repeated calmly. She was trying to be civil for Spencer's sake.

Kelly looked around the studio and picked up one of their business cards. "Just checking out the competition," she gave them a little smirk. "This is an interesting little shin dig," she started condescendingly. "This is the big film production you two were talking about back in college?"

Spencer narrowed her eyes now realizing what Casey was trying to tell her earlier. "So you own that new film production?" _Fucking bitch._

"Guilty as charged," Kelly threw the card down at the desk. "And I must say, I thought I was going to have a challenge but this is like taking candy from a baby."

"Stealing our clients? Isn't that a little petty for you?" Casey asked. Spencer looked like she was about to kill someone.

Kelly let out a little laugh. "Petty? It's called good business, Case, and from the looks of this place, you seem to have none."

"What you do, Kelly? Offer to sleep with them? Because we all know that when it comes to good film production, Spencer and I can kick your skanky ass," Casey glared at her. "You're not still bitter about that film festival are you?" she asked smirking.

Kelly's face darkened. "That's in the past. Mark my words, ladies. This little 'production' of yours is going to tank. Pretty soon I'm going to have all your clients. And then we'll see who's better." She stepped right into Spencer's personal space. "It was great seeing you, Spencer, maybe we can get together some time."

_Is she kidding me?_ "Yeah, and maybe you can suck my imaginary dick. Get the fuck out of my studio you vicious cunt."

Kelly smirked again. "Later." She left with a wink and Spencer had to fight the urge not to throw a chair at her retreating form. She was seething with rage.

"You okay?" Casey asked cautiously.

"Am I okay?" Spencer wheeled around and stared at Casey. She was livid. "Am I okay?" she repeated, her voice cracking with rage. "Kelly's back in town and stealing our clients. I'm not even in the vicinity of okay!" _I'm going to kill her._

Casey grabbed a hold of Spencer's shoulders. "Spencer, I know what happened back in college was horrible, but that's in the past. You can't let her get to you."

"How can I not?" Spencer screamed, brushing off Casey's hands. "You know how it was, you were there."

"I know, Spencer, but we have to be the bigger people here. Those clients we lost to her? They're going to realize they made a mistake and come back here," Casey reassured her. "You know how Kelly works, she's full of shit."

Spencer knew that Casey was right. What Kelly lacked in talent she always made up for in money. She absolutely sucked at film editing and Spencer always wondered how she managed to stay in film school. The film festival proved exactly how talent less Kelly was. Her high tech, futuristic indie movie did not impress the judges. They thought it was superficial and thought it focused more on the special effects than the actual cinematography. The prize went to Spencer and Casey. Kelly's been bitter ever since.

Kelly was also Spencer's ex-girlfriend. Her first girlfriend to be exact. The one she lost her virginity to. Having spent four years of being ignored and ridiculed in high school, Spencer fell hard and blind for Kelly. She couldn't believe that someone was actually taking an interest in her. Kelly was sweet and charming and seemed to genuinely like Spencer. Spencer thought she finally found someone who felt the same way as she did. She was wrong. Kelly didn't feel the same way for Spencer. She just wanted a "steady fuck." Once she got bored with Spencer, Kelly started cheating on her. It broke Spencer's heart especially since Kelly berated her when they broke up. She called her clingy and needy among other things.

After Kelly, Spencer put walls around her heart. She never entered another relationship ever since. Her heart always belonged to one person. Ashley.

"I have to go," Spencer suddenly said.

"Spence, are you okay?" Casey asked concerned.

_No._ "Yeah, I just," she took a deep breath. "I need to see Ashley."

Casey nodded her head understanding. "Hey, we'll be okay. Kelly is nothing."

Spencer smiled thinly. "I know."

But Spencer was worried. Kelly may be a talent less bitch but she had money. Money she could use to hire people with actual talent and make great films. Spencer and Casey's film production might be the best in the city, but they were very limited. They needed to catch a big break. A project that would blow Kelly's faux production right out of the water. It gave Spencer a little consolation that the EPK check hasn't come in yet. They had just recently completed filming it and were in the process of editing. That money would make a great difference.

Spencer hadn't even realized she had arrived at Ashley's loft. Her mind was running a mile a minute. Running into whore of an ex definitely had bent her out of shape. She smiled when she knocked on the door.

Ashley opened it and smiled in surprise. "Hey, I thought you had to be at the studio." Spencer stepped into her arms and squeezed her tight, burying her face in Ashley's neck. "Nice to see you, too," Ashley said squeezing just as tight. They pulled apart and Ashley could already sense something was wrong. "Everything okay?"

_I really got to work on my poker face._ Spencer took a deep breath and shrugged. "Yeah, everything's fine," she lied. Ashley took her hand and led them to the couch. She sat down and pulled Spencer to her side, putting an arm around her. Spencer happily cuddled against her.

"Okay, if everything's fine, why do you have your pouty worried face?"

_My what?_ "I do not have a pouty worried face," Spencer denied. She draped her arm across Ashley's stomach.

Ashley chuckled softly and started playing with Spencer's hair. "Four years worth of Fridays tells me you too have a pouty worried face."

Spencer looked up at her. "What?"

"I could always tell when you weren't in a good mood back in high school. You had this look," Ashley explained.

_She knew my moods?_ "A look?"

Ashley kissed her on her nose. "Yeah, it's like this little pout and your eyebrows would furrow. It made your forehead slightly wrinkle."

Spencer smiled and pulled Ashley in for a kiss. "You're unbelievable you know that?"

"Yeah, that's what they tell me," Ashley said jokingly but received a poke in the stomach. "But really what's the matter?"

Spencer sighed and started tracing patterns on Ashley's stomach. She could feel her muscles twitch underneath her fingers. "Casey and I found out who's been stealing our clients."

"Who?"

_My bitch of an ex-girlfriend._ "This girl Casey and I went to school with. She's always hated us because we were always beating her at everything."

"So now she's getting revenge?" Ashley asked unbelievably. "That's mature."

"I know, but her production company is apparently so much better than ours." Spencer scratched her head. "I really don't want to lose our production. It's like me and Casey's baby."

Ashley pulled her closer to her. "You won't. This chick has no idea what she's getting into. Your film production is the best. I've read the reviews. You'll get more clients, Spencer."

Spencer smiled. "You're just saying that because you're my girlfriend."

"And it's the truth." She kissed her on the forehead. "Don't be so hard on yourself." _I can't help it._

They laid there for a few minutes just enjoying each other's company. It was amazing how much better Spencer felt from just being around Ashley. "Maybe you and Casey can sign a contract with the record company," Ashley suggested.

Spencer sat up and looked at her girlfriend confused. "A contract?"

"Yeah, we have a bunch of artists signed and I'm pretty sure a lot of them need means of promotion. Your film production can be like our official street team. We'll go to you for EPKs, music videos, promotional shots, etc. You'll get loads of new clients," Ashley explained.

Spencer scratched her head and considered it. _That would get us a whole bunch of clients, but that would also mean…_ "Then that would be like I was working for you," Spencer suddenly said.

Ashley looked at her curiously. "Well, technically, yeah considering I co-own half of the company, but what's wrong with that?"

_Um, what's right with that?_ Spencer smiled at her. "I'll have to talk it over with Casey first."

Ashley seemed to be satisfied with that answer and pulled Spencer back to her.

Spencer didn't like the idea of working for Ashley. It'd be like her ex-girlfriend stealing her money while her new girlfriend was giving her money. That wasn't right. She could handle this. She didn't need anyone to get clients for her. Spencer was perfectly capable of upholding her business. She didn't need anyone saving her.

_That includes Ashley._

---


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter Eighteen_

Spencer yawned so big that she thought she was going to dislocate her jaw. She was at the studio again and it was nearly midnight. She didn't want to go home until she finished editing the EPK. Although there was no set deadline, Spencer wanted it done so they can finally get their check. The rent was approaching fast and they did not have money to pay for it. It was currently their only big project. Once they were done with the EPK, they only had little minor ones that wouldn't take that long and wouldn't pay as well.

Spencer unconsciously scowled at the thought of Kelly stealing all those high paying clients. Luckily, none of their other clients fell for Kelly's bullshit. Some of them even told Spencer and Casey about the new film production and said that they'd rather stick with the best and not the most lavish.

_You can't buy your way through everything, Kelly._ Spencer sighed as she started to burn the project on the DVD. Their computer crashed twice that day and Spencer was terrified that it might do it again. _We really need a new computer._ Spencer patted the hard drive in a motherly fashion. "Don't crap out on me, please."

Spencer stood and stretched. Her entire body was aching. Her back was sore, her neck was tense, her legs were cramped, and she had a major headache. She looked over at the couch where Casey was fast asleep, snoring slightly. She stayed with Spencer because she didn't want her to be stressing alone. Even though she had as hard as day as Spencer, Casey refused to leave her side. She made her way over to Casey and draped her jacket over her.

"Hey," Ashley whispered from the door way.

Spencer turned around and smiled. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked also whispering.

Ashley made her way over to Spencer and pulled her into a hug. "Missing you. I tried calling you all night."

"Yeah, sorry, I've been really busy," Spencer indicated the messy room where all their equipment was still scattered everywhere. "I finished your EPK!" she said in an excited whisper.

"Really? Can I see?"

Spencer sat back down in her chair with Ashley standing right behind her. "No, not yet. But I'll let you see it first before I send it over to the record company."

"Speaking of, have you talked to Casey about what we discussed yet?" Ashley asked while putting her hands on Spencer's shoulder. She unconsciously started to massage Spencer.

Spencer closed her eyes at the sensation. _God, those hands._ "Um, not yet. We've been really busy." _Not a complete lie._ Spencer had no intention of discussing what her and Ashley talked about. She already made her decision.

"Geez, baby, you're all tense," Ashley said while rubbing her thumbs a little harder.

Spencer rolled her shoulders. "I've been stressing." _Understatement of the year._

"That girl steal anymore clients?"

She didn't think it was possible, but Spencer tensed up some more. "Um, no. She's been quiet." The computer finally finished saving the EPK and Spencer took out the disc. "All done, I can finally go home." She stood up and put the disc in a case. She walked over to Casey and shook her gently. "Casey," she whispered in her ear.

Casey stirred and looked up a little disoriented. "Yeah?"

"You can go home now, I finished the EPK."

"Sweet," she yawned. "Oh, hey, Ashley."

"Hey, you look like you can use a day of sleep."

"God, don't I know it." She got up and stretched. She looked around room and frowned. "Let's clean this shit up tomorrow."

Spencer nodded in agreement and started turning off the lights. "Casey, you sure you're okay to drive home?"

"Yeah." She immediately proved her wrong when she tripped over nothing.

"Okay, I'm driving you home and leaving your car here. I'll give you a ride to work tomorrow," Spencer said.

Casey was too tired to argue and followed Spencer and Ashley out the door.

"Why don't you drive Casey home in her car and leave yours here," Ashley suggested.

Spencer looked at her confused. "Then, how will I get home?"

"I'll follow you two, and take you home myself," she said suggestively.

Spencer grinned. "I like that idea."

Once Spencer and Ashley got Casey home and tucked warm and safe in Sally's arms, they headed back to Spencer's place. Spencer was too tired to do anything and immediately collapsed on her bed without even bothering to change.

Ashley helped her out though. She gave Spencer a much needed, very naked, full body massage. Spencer sighed in contentment as Ashley's magical hands worked their way on Spencer's aching body.

Spencer was about to fall asleep comfortable against Ashley when she remembered that she forgot to do something. "I didn't check my messages," she mumbled against Ashley's chest. She vaguely remembered the blinking machine when she entered her apartment. She had to listen to them because she knew that the landlord would be calling or the credit card company.

"I'll go," Ashley offered and got out of bed. Spencer immediately missed her warmth. She heard Ashley hit the button and the messages started playing. "You have three," Ashley announced.

Spencer tried to wake herself up and listen to them.

"Hey, Spencer, it's Gary. Your rent is a week past due. I need it by the end of next week." Beep. _Fuck_ "This is Card Services calling for Spencer Carlin. It is imperative that you call us back at 1-888-477-9857." Beep. _Double Fuck._ "Hey, Spencer," _Shit._ "You know who this is. Call me, back at 323-564-7815." Beep. _Fuck fuck fuck._

Spencer sat up in bed just Ashley came back into the room. "Who was that?" Ashley asked curiously.

"The girl who's stealing our clients," Spencer answered calmly. She surprised herself on how nonchalant she sounded.

"Why is she calling you?"

Spencer shrugged her shoulders feigning indifference. "I have no clue. To rub it in my face? She probably left Casey the same message."

"That's a little juvenile."

"Well, that's Kelly. Come back to bed, I'm getting cold." She really didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Ashley smiled and got back under the covers. Spencer snuggled against her and laid her head on her shoulder. "Want me to kick her ass?" Ashley mumbled against Spencer's hair.

"Hmm, let me get back to you," Spencer looked up and kissed her on the cheek. _Yeah, cause an altercation between Ashley and Kelly is just what I need._

"Goodnight, Spencer."

"Goodnight, Ashley."

---

Spencer was freaking out. Two weeks had passed since she turned in the EPK but the check still hadn't come through. The rent was due in three days and she was afraid that they had to shut down the studio. She herself was swimming in debt. She managed to convince her landlord for another extension on the rent and borrowed money from her parents, something Spencer hated doing. But there was no way she'd ask Casey for a loan. She pretty much owed the girl her entire life. The only good thing currently happening Spencer's life (besides Ashley) was the fact that Kelly hasn't made another appearance and all their clients were still, in fact, their clients.

Spencer walked in the studio ready to scream in frustration when a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"What the-?"

"Don't peek, I have a surprise for you," she heard Casey say.

"Casey, I told you before, I'm not interested in any of your sex games."

"Shut up or I'll make you trip."

Spencer felt Casey lead her to the backroom. "Okay, ready?"

"Yeah." Casey released her hands and Spencer looked around. The entire backroom was completely redone. Their equipment was neatly put away on newly installed shelves, the painting was actually one solid color, and they had two brand new computers. Spencer's jaw dropped. "Where..when..what..huh?"

Casey laughed. "The EPK check came in on Friday after you left so I decided to redo the entire backroom on the weekend. And get you your new computers," Casey said smiling.

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows. "The EPK check paid for all this?" she asked skeptically.

"Yup."

"Wait, what about the rent and utilities?"

"All paid for."

_That's doesn't make sense._ Spencer looked around and fingered a few of their new things. "So, the check paid for these computers, the new paint job, these newly installed furniture, AND the rent?"

Casey looked at her unsure. "Yeah...Spencer, what's the matter?"

"Can I see the check?"

"Why?"

"Please?"

"Okay," Casey bit her lip and got the books where they kept all copies of their transactions. "I don't know what you're looking for."

Spencer looked at the copy of the check and her eyes nearly popped out. "This is not the payment we agreed to."

"No, not initially," Casey said cautiously.

Spencer turned around and stared at Casey. "What do you mean not initially?"

Casey scratched her head in utter confusion. "Spence, I met with Davies Records a couple of weeks ago about the EPK. We discussed a different payment plan because of all the extra work we've been putting into it."

"What?" _She met with Davies Records? Behind my back._

"Didn't Ashley tell you?"

Spencer's jaw tightened. "No, she didn't."

"I thought it'd be okay with you considering how tight the money is right now. And they also mentioned something about a contract?" Casey looked at her expectantly.

"I got to go," Spencer abruptly said.

"What? Spencer, we have work to do. I thought you'd be thrilled with the new equipment."

_Thrilled? More like pissed._ "I have to see, Ashley."

Casey frowned. Usually when Spencer said that, she was happy. This time she looked like she was going to kill someone.

_Who the hell does she think she is?_

---


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter Nineteen_

Spencer's temper rose with every traffic light she passed. She was furious with Ashley for giving her that extra money for the EPK.

_Who does she think she is? I'm not some charity case. I can get my own Goddamn clients and make my own Goddamn money without her help._

Spencer swerved into a parking space and turned off her engine. Clutching the copy of the check in her hand, Spencer left her car and stormed into Davies Records. She didn't even bother greeting the receptionist and made her way to the elevators. Spencer watched herself in the reflection of the chrome doors as the lift ascended. She looked like a mad woman but at the moment, she didn't care.

The doors opened and Spencer sped walked all the way to Ashley's room. The door was slightly ajar and she stopped when she heard voices. Even in her current state of rage, Spencer didn't barge in but listened. Spencer pushed the door open when she realized that the other voice was just Sally.

Ashley and Sally looked up in surprise at Spencer's appearance.

"Spencer! Check this out, Ashley got me a new guitar," Sally proudly held up what looked like a very expensive guitar. "I actually have one that doesn't have glue keeping it together."

Spencer gave her a tight smile. "Guess Ashley just giving away lots of things lately," she muttered.

Ashley titled her head at her. "What?" she asked confused. She could already tell that something was very wrong.

"Can I talk to you?" Spencer said to her and looked over at Sally. "Alone."

Having known Spencer for six years, Sally knew that Spencer was pissed. She got up and started to leave the room when Ashley stopped her.

"Um, Sally, we have work to do." She turned to Spencer. "Spencer, shouldn't you be at work?"

Spencer took a deep breath, trying not to blow up with Sally still in the room. "This is really important."

Ashley eyed her cautiously. "Okay, um, Sally why don't you just go down to the studio and start playing the solos. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Sally nodded and left the room. Once she was gone, Spencer closed the door and shoved the check in front of Ashley's face. "What's this?"

Ashley furrowed her eyebrows confused on why Spencer was acting like this. She took the piece of paper and read it over. "It's the EPK check," she said calmly.

_Is she trying to play dumb?_ "Yeah, it is," she spat.

"What's the problem?" Ashley read it over again trying to figure out where Spencer was going with this. "Did it not go through?"

Spencer almost laughed. "Oh, it went through. In fact, we have a whole bunch of new things thanks to your check."

"Then what's the problem?" Ashley asked again.

"The problem?!" Spencer ran a hand through her hair frustrated. "Ashley, this is NOT the payment we agreed to when we took on the project. I didn't agree to this and yet you felt the need to give me extra money? Who the hell do you think you are?" Spencer's voice rose with every word.

"Whoa, wait!" Ashley threw the piece of paper to the side and walked up to Spencer so they were face to face. "First of all, I didn't give _you_ extra money as you claim. The record company decided to change the payment plan because your production company put extra work into it," Ashley defended.

Spencer scoffed. "Oh really? Then why did you meet Casey behind my back?"

"What?" Ashley asked incredulously. "I didn't go behind your back with anything. _The record company_ set up a meeting with your production and then your _business partner_ showed up. This was a legitimate business transaction."

_Oh, yeah right._ "Then how come I didn't know about it?"

Ashley threw a hand in the air. She was getting tired of Spencer's accusatory tirade. "I don't know. Casey forgot to tell you?"

"Yeah, okay. So this money just happened to come in at the time when we're in a dire situation and right after you hear how I can't even pay my rent? 'Oh, my poor girlfriend can't even pay the water bill, let me give her some money,'" Spencer was livid. "I'm not your charity case, Ashley!"

"I never said you were!" she fired back. "Nor do I think that." Ashley took a step back trying to calm herself. She was pretty sure the entire building could hear them arguing. "Spencer, where is this coming from?" she asked calmly. She reached out and tried to touch her but Spencer recoiled. Ashley backed down a little hurt.

"I don't need your money, Ashley," Spencer said in an angry whisper.

"Why do keep saying that?" Ashley asked getting angry again. "First of all, I'm not giving _you_ money. Your _company_, the one owned by you and _Casey_, were doing a job for this record _company_ and then got paid for it. It's how the world works, Spencer." Ashley also ran a hand through her hair. "And considering the situation you guys are in, I thought you'd welcome this."

"Oh, so you're finally admitting we're a charity case," Spencer bit back irrationally.

Ashley let out a frustrated groan. "Do you hear yourself right now? Are you even listening to anything I'm saying?" She threw her hands out, sweeping them across the room. "This is a business! A business, Spencer. This isn't personal. The EPK, the check, it's all business. Business you obviously need but for some strange reason, won't accept." She took a deep breath. "Why are you acting like this?"

Spencer shook her head and looked down on the floor. A million voices ran through her head telling her how she'd never be good enough for anything. Voices from high school, voices from Kelly, voices from herself.

_You're pathetic._

Look at you.

Can't even stand up for yourself.

Can't even speak straight.

No one likes you.

You were just a steady fuck.

No one wants someone clingy.

Stop being so needy.

You'll never make it as a film editor.

I feel sorry for you.

Why are you acting like this?

Spencer tried to push the voices out of her head but they were screaming. She bit her lip trying to stop the tears and looked up at Ashley. Ashley was still looking at her expectantly. "I-I ca-can't do this," Spencer whispered.

"Spencer," Ashley's voice was filled with concern. She took a step towards her and tried to reach out again, but Spencer stepped back. "Baby, what's the matter?"

The worried look on Ashley's face almost made Spencer cry. She shook her head again and started to leave the room. "I just can't." Spencer ran out of the door and down the hallway. She almost knocked over Sally who was on her way back from the studio, and went straight to elevators.

"Spencer!" Ashley called running after her but Spencer was already in the elevator. The doors closed before Ashley could stop it.

Spencer desperately tried to wipe away her tears as the elevator descended. She could still hear the voices in her head and she hated herself for yelling at Ashley the way she did. Spencer knew Ashley didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve any of it. Her insecurities were creeping back and killing everything in Spencer's life. She hated Kelly for coming back. She hated herself for letting Kelly do this to her again. She thought she was over it.

She left the building and went to her car. Spencer did not want to go back to work. She wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out.

"We really got to stop meeting like this."

_Are you shitting me?_ Spencer turned around to see the smug face of Kelly making her way towards her. "What are you doing here?" Spencer asked tiredly. This was the last thing she needed.

Kelly took her sunglasses off and perched them on her head. "I took this from your little studio," she held up a Davies Records business card. "I thought I'd find more clients." She gave her a cheeky smile and Spencer wanted to punch her.

"You mean steal?"

"You say tomato."

"No, I say go to hell." She turned around and started to unlock her car.

"Aw, baby, have you've been crying?" Kelly reached out and tried to cup Spencer's cheek but Spencer slapped her hand away violently.

"Don't you fucking touch me, and don't you dare call me that," Spencer yelled.

Kelly just smirked.

"Spencer!" Spencer couldn't believe her bad luck as she turned around to see Ashley running towards her. Ashley didn't even seem to notice Kelly as she took Spencer's hands in hers. "Spencer, we have to talk," she said looking straight into her eyes.

Spencer looked down and tried to pull away from Ashley's strong, yet gentle, hold. "Ashley, please, not now," she whispered.

"And who's this?" Kelly's voice piped in.

Ashley turned her head and looked at Kelly annoyed. "Who the hell are you?"

_Oh, God. Please, not now._ Spencer didn't know what to do as she watched her past collide with her present.

"I'm Kelly," she said with that annoying smirk.

"Kelly?" Realization dawned on Ashley and her face darkened. "I suggest you leave now."

"Why? You two having a lover's spat?" she said condescendingly. "Spencer whining about how you don't pay attention to her?"

Ashley let go of Spencer's hands and got right into Kelly's face. "Excuse me?"

Kelly let out a laugh. "Does she cling to you like she clung to me?" Spencer didn't even bother to stop the tears that rolled down her face as she watched Kelly belittle her in front of Ashley.

Ashley's jaw tightened and she clenched her fists at her sides. "You better shut your face or I'll fucking remove it." She stared Kelly down. For a moment, Kelly flinched. The look Ashley was giving her was enough to kill.

"Is there a problem Miss Davies?" A security guard asked appearing at their side.

"Yes, there is," Ashley said not taking her eyes off Kelly. "Will you escort this girl off the premises please?"

"Sure thing." He took a hold of Kelly's arm. "Let's go miss."

"Don't touch me, rent-a-cop." She shook off his grasp as she was led away but not before she gave Spencer that smug smile.

Spencer looked down and watched her tears hit the pavement. She could hear Ashley take a deep breath.

"Hey," Ashley said softly and lifted her chin up. "It's okay."

Spencer shook her head and stared back down. "No-no it's not." She tried to shake off Ashley's touch but Ashley was already pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay," Ashley repeated holding her tight. Spencer tried to push her off but she only held on tighter. "It's okay, it's okay, shh."

Spencer's tears flowed as she tried to fight off the strong embrace. Ashley just held on tighter and tighter and kept reassuring her that it was going to be okay. Eventually, Spencer collapsed in her arms and buried her tear-stained face into Ashley's neck.

"I love you," Ashley whispered.

More tears fell. _I love you, too._

---


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter Twenty_

Spencer stared blankly at the ceiling and sighed. After her little melt down in the parking lot, Ashley had taken her back inside the building and into her room. Promising her that they will talk about everything, Ashley left Spencer and went back to work. Now Spencer was lying on Ashley's couch preparing for the worse. Her mind was still running a mile a minute as she tried to pinpoint exactly where everything started to fall apart.

_What am I suppose to say to her? That I'm an insecure little girl who can't handle anything?_ Spencer rubbed a hand over her face and groaned. She wanted to blame someone for all her misfortunes but she knew it was her very own insecurities that were ruining everything. The check shouldn't have bothered her that much but Spencer was so used to doing things on her own. _Now I know why pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Wow, wouldn't Mom be proud that I actually paid attention during catechism._

Feeling antsy, Spencer got off the couch and started pacing Ashley's room. She smiled when she found a framed picture of her and Ashley on Ashley's desk. It was very cute and very coupley. Spencer never thought she'd actually have one of _those_ pictures. She sat down on Ashley's chair and surveyed the items on her desk. Ashley was a messy person. Her room was neat and tidy but Ashley's desk looked like a bomb had gone off. Spencer was almost tempted to organize everything but she didn't want to go through Ashley's things. She knew if someone touched her desk, she'd have a bitchfest.

Her eyes scanned over a small calendar and she smiled again when she read what Ashley wrote one of the days for next week. "Get Spencer flowers." Ashley even drew a little heart on it. A piece of composition paper also caught her eye and she took it out under a bunch of other papers. It looked like a song that Ashley had been working on but it was in its very tentative stages. There were pencil scratches all over the place but the lyrics that were written so far were amazing. Spencer felt her heart do that familiar lurch when she read the title. "Euterpe." Spencer let out another sigh. She was feeling very guilty about how she yelled at Ashley.

She was still staring at the song when she heard a knock. "Spence?" It was Sally. Spencer got up and went to unlock the door. Sally stepped inside and gave her a sympathetic look. "Hey," she greeted and relocked the door.

"Hi," Spencer said sadly. She knew she probably looked like hell.

"Aw, baby, come here." Sally pulled her into a hug and Spencer buried her head in her shoulder. "You okay?" Spencer just shook her head. "Come here," Sally said again and led them back to the couch and sat down. Spencer automatically laid her head in Sally's lap as Sally ran her fingers through her hair.

One of the millions things Spencer loved about Casey and Sally. They were the best shoulders (or laps) to cry on. They may tease Spencer to no end but when it comes down to it, Spencer knew that they'd drop everything just to be there for her. She remembered all those nights during college when she cried to them about Kelly. Spencer honestly didn't know what she'd do without those two.

"What happened?"

Spencer let out a not so amused laugh. "I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Sally countered.

"Yes, I am. I totally overreacted and blew up at Ashley for no reason. She probably thinks I'm all emotionally unstable and break up with me." Spencer felt a sharp pain in her heart. Just the thought of Ashley leaving her made her feel like she was drowning from the inside.

"She is not going to break up with you, Spencer," Sally reassured her. "She's absolutely crazy about you and she loves you." Spencer was unconvinced as she kept hearing those voices in her head again. "Hey," Sally grabbed Spencer's chin and forced her to look at her. "Stop it. I know what you're doing. Don't let what happened with that stupid whore ruin what you have with Ashley."

"It's not just Kelly. It's me." Spencer bit her lip.

Sally took a deep breath. She was never good with her words that why she always wrote it in song. "You know that Ashley talks about you all the time?"

Spencer gave her a small smile. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No, I'm not. She really does. All the time. She also talks about high school."

Spencer looked at her skeptically. "She does?"

Sally nodded her head. "She's always saying how she regrets not talking to you as much because she really wanted to get to know you. Become friends and maybe more."

Spencer had heard all this before from Ashley but hearing it from someone else was different. She did believe Ashley when she told her that she too felt a connection back then, but hearing it from Sally somehow made it truer.

"I told her that Casey and I known each other since we were fifteen," Sally continued. "And then she told me that technically, you and her have known each other for that long as well." Sally smiled down at her.

Spencer never thought about it that way. After years of envying Casey and Sally's almost ten-year relationship, she realized that her and Ashley technically had one as well. Granted it wasn't the same but that little information filled Spencer with warmth.

"You know she wanted to ask you to prom?"

"What?" Spencer sat up and stared at Sally.

"Yeah, she told me that it was one of the other things she regretted. She really wanted to ask you but she chickened out. She thought you'd say no or she'd scare you away," Sally explained.

_She wanted to ask me to prom?_

Spencer thought back to that Friday of prom. She was working on the storyboard for her film class final when Ashley sat down. She was acting a little off, but Spencer thought nothing of it. She was tired and was getting really sick of hearing people talk about prom. Of course she wanted to go. Who would want to miss their Senior Prom? It was a rite of passage and all that jazz.

Spencer looked up when she heard Ashley swear under her breath. She had just broken a guitar string and was trying to take it off her guitar. Ashley let out a puff of air and looked at Spencer.

"You going to prom?" Ashley asked sweetly.

Spencer almost let out a laugh. _Ha, me? Go to prom?_ She shook her head. "No." Spencer went back to her storyboard but she could still feel Ashley looking at her. She looked up again. "Are-are you going?"

Ashley bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know yet."

That surprised Spencer because she thought that Ashley would for sure be going. She was sure that the entire school had probably asked her already. "You-you don't know yet?"

Ashley smiled. "Yeah, I mean I'm not really into dances. Plus, I would want to go with someone that I liked and know I would have a good time with," she bit her lip. "You should go you know."

Spencer blushed and looked back down causing her glasses to slip again. "I-I don't have a da-date."

"Oh," Spencer swore she sounded almost relieved. "Well maybe, you can, um," Ashley scratched her head and Spencer looked at her confused. "What I mean is, you can," she stopped and smiled. _What the hell is going on? Why is she babbling?_ "You should go," Ashley said again.

Spencer opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the bell. Ashley abruptly stood up, gathered her things, and left the courtyard. Spencer watched her retreating form very confused.

The sound of the door opening brought Spencer back from her memory. Ashley poked her head in. "Hey," she said quietly.

Sally gave Spencer a hug and whispered in her ear. "Just talk, Spencer. You're going to be okay." She gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Spencer sat up on the couch and stared down. She waited for Ashley to sit down before she looked up. "How are you feeling?"

Spencer shrugged. "Okay, I guess." _Come on, Spencer. Just talk._ "Ashley, I'm sorry," she started. She looked her girlfriend in the eyes. "For everything. For yelling at you, for freaking out, for running out."

Ashley stopped her by taking her hand. "Spencer, I love you." That wasn't the response Spencer was expecting. Ashley brought her hand to her lips and kissed it. "I love your hands." She cupped Spencer's face and kissed her. "I love your lips." She ran a hand through Spencer's hair. "I love your hair." She looked her right in the eyes. "I love your eyes." Spencer looked at her confused. "If it's a part of you, then I love it," Ashley said. "That means I love you when you're happy, I love you when you're sad, and I love you when you're angry."

Spencer bit her lip already feeling the tears behind her eyes. "I love you, too."

"You have to stop running away from me when things get bad, Spencer. You know I'll never stop running after you."

"I know, it's just," Spencer took a deep breath. "I don't know how else to deal. I don't want to lose you."

Ashley held her hand tighter. "You're not going to lose me. I'll never leave you." Spencer looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled a little. "Look, about earlier, I'm sorry that I upset you with that check. I honestly didn't think that it was going to bother you, Spencer-"

"No, wait," Spencer composed herself. "I'm really used to doing things on my own. I worked really hard to get where I am."

"I know that, Spencer. I didn't mean to downplay how hard you've worked," Ashley explained.

"I know you didn't," Spencer said, rationality finally making its way to Spencer's train of thought. "This film production, it's like the only thing I've ever been proud of. When Casey and I first started it, I honestly didn't think we were going to make it. But we did, and I was proud," Spencer smiled at the memory when they landed their first big client. "I never thought I could feel that about myself." She started to play with Ashley's fingers. "So when we started to lose clients, I felt like I was failing somehow and that it was my responsibility to save the production."

"Spencer you weren't failing," Ashley said supportively.

"I know, but ever since high school, people have been telling me how I'll never make it anywhere. And then, I got to college and met Kelly," Spencer winced at the name and looked at Ashley.

"She's a bitch," she stated bluntly.

"I know, but I fell for her," Spencer looked down, suddenly unsure if she could continue. "She made me feel wanted and actually good about myself." She felt Ashley's hand squeeze tighter. "But I was just a fool to believe that."

"Stop it," Ashley suddenly said. Her voice was filled with anger but it wasn't directed towards Spencer. "Kelly is a self-loathing bitch who has to belittle everyone around her just to make herself feel better about herself. What she did to you wasn't your fault. You are the most amazing person in the world and you deserve to be loved and wanted. I hate that she made you feel that you weren't."

Spencer was taken back by Ashley's forceful tone. "I know but-"

"Spencer," she turned so she was completely facing her. "I can't possibly know how bad it was for you back then, but know this now. All those voices telling you that you're not good enough, none of them are true, okay? You are an amazing, extraordinary, successful woman and you've accomplished so many things. I admire that so much." She grabbed her face and gave her a reassuring kiss. "And I know that you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but if you would let me, I'd like to take care of you, too. Because I love you and when you hurt, I hurt."

Spencer gave her a big smile. "You want to take care of me?" she asked almost shyly.

"More than anything."

"Okay," she said quietly.

"Okay," Ashley repeated smiling.

Spencer bit her lip and looked at Ashley seriously again. "Listen, Ashley, I really do appreciate that check, and I'm sorry that I accused you of treating us like a charity case-"

"Wait, Spencer, honestly, changing the payment plan wasn't even my idea," Ashley explained.

A guilty look crossed Spencer's face. _Oh, so I really did yell at her for no reason. Great._ "Oh."

Ashley smiled at her. "It was the label's idea. You two did really put a lot more work into it. It's actually one of the best EPKs this company's ever seen so it seemed appropriate to change it."

"Oh," Spencer said again.

"But I did feel that it would help you out a little," Ashley admitted. "I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay."

Spencer smiled. "I really appreciate it, and I promise I won't blow up at you again next time your label sends us a check."

Ashley raised her eyebrow. "Next time?"

"Yeah," Spencer looked at her shyly. "If that contract offer is still on the table, I'd love to sign it."

Ashley smiled. "Of course it is, and I actually have news to share with you."

"What?"

"I just got out of a meeting and my dad just told the label that he's planning on retiring at the end of the year."

Spencer was a little confused on why Ashley looked really excited. "Then, what's going to happen to the label?"

"He wants me to take over completely," Ashley could barely contain her glee.

"Really?" Spencer threw her arms around her. "Baby, I'm so happy for you." She pulled apart and frowned a little at the worried look that just crossed Ashley's face. "What's the matter?"

"I'm a little scared," Ashley admitted. "It's going to be all mine. What if I screw it up?"

"You're not going to screw it up," Spencer assured her. "You're going to be great."

"You think?"

"I know."

Ashley smiled and pulled Spencer closer to her. "Yeah, but just in case I can't cut it, I should get a partner or something." She gave Spencer a little kiss. "You think Sally would be up for the job?"

Spencer smiled. "She's going to wet herself when you tell her."

Ashley laughed and pushed Spencer down on the couch. "I love you, Spencer Carlin."

"I love you, too, Ashley Davies." Ashley leaned down and kissed her.

Spencer couldn't hear the voices anymore. She could only hear Ashley.

---


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:** This is the final chapter. There is a very short epilogue that follows it.

* * *

_Chapter Twenty-One_

There was something touching Spencer's nose as she slept. Something very soft. _What the hell is that? A feather? Koopa?_ Spencer slowly opened her eyes to find Ashley smiling down at her.

"Morning," she whispered running a finger down Spencer's nose.

Spencer scrunched up her nose and smiled at her. "That's how Gillian wakes up Sally," she mumbled groggily.

Ashley looked at her very confused. "Who the hell is Gillian and why is she waking up Sally?"

Spencer let out a sleepy laugh. "Not our Sally. Gillian and Sally from _Practical Magic_," she explained. "It's one of my favorite movies. I liked the directing."

"Ah, I see." Ashley ran her fingers through Spencer's hair. "You have to get up now."

Spencer pouted and buried her head in her pillow. "No, sleep times now."

Ashley shook her and turned her over. "Come on, Spence, you have to go film our music video, remember? Casey and Sally are probably already on set waiting for our lazy asses."

It's been about four months since Spencer and Casey had signed the contract with Davies Records and business couldn't have been better. They underestimated just how much promotion artists needed. The record label sent over three new musicians the first month that wanted everything from EPKs to music videos to interview blogs for their personal websites. Spencer and Casey had their hands full as did Ashley and Sally. Raife had signed off a little earlier than expected and Ashley asked Sally if she wanted to be her partner. Sally agreed in about one second and the two have been producing albums ever since while working on their own music careers.

Now Spencer and Casey were going to be working with Ashley and Sally for the first time since their EPK. Their album dropped a few weeks ago and they were about to make their first music video. They had planned on making it before the album was released but with all the business both productions have been taking in, they had to push it back.

"I don't have a lazy ass," Spencer protested. She had now pulled the covers over her head. Spencer felt Ashley get off the bed and she suddenly felt a hard slap against her said not lazy ass. "Ow!" she screamed pulling the covers down. Ashley grinned at her. "That was mean."

"Well, it's the only way to get you up. We have to be there in 20 minutes."

Spencer glanced at her clock. "I don't even have time to take a shower?"

"Nope, you're just going to have to stink up the place," Ashley teased and got a pillow thrown at her face.

"You know," Spencer got out of bed with the sheet wrapped around her. "I would've gotten up earlier if _someone_ didn't keep me up all night." She went to her dresser and started pulling out some clothes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ashley said innocently and stood behind Spencer. She lightly tugged on the sheet letting it fall and revealing Spencer's naked body. She wrapped her arms around her waist and started kissing her bare shoulder.

"Ash," Spencer said getting a little hot. "You said we have to be there in 20 minutes."

"I know." Ashley's hands started to wander around Spencer's body before Spencer pushed her off.

"Ashley!" Spencer chastised.

"Fine, fine." She kissed her and left the room.

Spencer shook her head as she made her way to bathroom but tripped over a moving box. Ashley had asked her to move in with her a few weeks ago and she just started packing. All her stuff was strewn all over the place with boxes everywhere. She would've moved in a lot earlier but Spencer wanted her lease to run out before she did. Spencer looked around her room and let out a sigh. She was going to miss the place but the thought of waking up next to Ashley every morning had her feeling like she was floating on air. And plus, she didn't have to deal with crazy Mrs. Hegenboth anymore. She was banging against her ceiling last night when her and Ashley were having sex. It put the mood off a little.

Spencer finally got ready and her and Ashley went off to the music video set. It wasn't exactly a set but rather the park that Ashley and Sally had first met busking. It was Spencer's idea to film their first music video there. She was a sucker for sentiment. Spencer smiled when she saw Casey and Sally already there. Casey was leaning against Sally and looked like she was sleeping while standing.

"You wear her out, too?" Spencer asked.

Sally grinned and shook her girlfriend awake. "Case, they're finally here."

Casey opened her eyes and glared at Spencer and Ashley. "It's about time," she chastised jokingly. "Alright people!" Casey said in her usual booming voice. "Let's get to work!" The crew scattered everywhere and did their respective jobs while Spencer and Casey sat in their directors' chairs. Ashley and Sally went into their trailers for hair and make-up.

"Coffee for you Ms. Carlin and Ms. McDonald," Manny said handing them both a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks.

"Thanks, Manny," Spencer said with a smile. He nodded shyly and then went off. "I can't believe you convinced me to let him stay," she told Casey.

Casey shrugged. "As long as he sticks to getting us our drinks and food, I'm happy with him."

Ashley and Sally finally made they were back to set, all ready to film. "Okay, here's how the first take is going to go," Spencer started getting into full director mode. "I want the two of you here and when playback starts, just strum your guitars. Don't look at the camera, just do what you normally do. I'm going to have a wide shot then when the first verse comes, it's going to be a close up. That's when you look at the camera okay?" Ashley and Sally looked at her with wide eyes. This was a lot different from filming the EPK. Spencer was more forceful and very professional.

"Got it, Spence."

Spencer went back behind the camera while Casey started yelling the orders. "Alright, lights, playback, and action!" The playback started and Ashley and Sally did exactly what Spencer told them. About thirty seconds in, Casey yelled a cut. Ashley and Sally looked on confused. "Hey Sally, there's a huge glare coming from your guitar. Tilt it down a little," Casey said in the same authority Spencer had earlier.

"Okay, Casey." She looked at Ashley and both had a nervous look on their faces.

Spencer chuckled. "They're probably not used to us being so bossy," she told Casey.

"I know," she grinned. "It's really fun."

---

"Who the hell was the director of photography in that movie? A three-year old?" Casey asked Spencer. The music video shoot ended earlier in the evening and the four of them decided to catch a movie.

"I know," Spencer agreed as she held hands with Ashley. "Did you see that bad cut? I mean how hard is it to make sure your actors are wearing the same shirt from one frame to the next?"

Sally rolled her eyes at Ashley. "I told you that seeing a movie with these two was a bad idea. All they talk about is the technical stuff. Never mind the actual movie."

Ashley smiled fondly at Spencer. "I don't know, I think it's kind of cute." She lifted their joined hands and gave Spencer's hand a kiss. Spencer smiled at her. The four of them were walking in a nice downtown area where there were outdoor cafes. Sally and Ashley automatically put money in a busker's guitar case as they passed him.

"It's cute now, but try six years of it. And I was double teamed!" Sally whined.

Casey also held onto her girlfriend's hand. "Oh, you know you love us."

"Oh, hey Ashley, you never answered my question," Sally said.

"What question?" Spencer asked curiously.

"While you and Casey were babbling about the cinematography, Ashley and I were playing a good round of 'Who'd you rather fuck?' and it was Ashley's turn."

"Okay, shoot."

Sally thought for a second as they continued to walk, their destination still not quite determined. "Okay, who'd you rather fuck, Lisa Loeb or Fiona Apple?"

Spencer and Casey looked at each other confused. "Who?" they said at the same time.

"Honestly, do you guys even listen to music?" Sally teased.

"Lisa Loeb," Ashley answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I have a thing for chicks with glasses." Ashley smiled at Spencer making her blush.

"You guys are too cute." _Damn, right we are._

"Ooh!" Ashley exclaimed and abruptly stopped. "Let's go into Starbucks and see if they have our CD on display."

"Okay!" Sally said a little too excited.

The four of them entered a Starbucks and went to the CD display stand the store put up. "Here it is!" Ashley said grabbing a CD. The front cover had Ashley and Sally (looking very hot) holding their guitars. They were sitting against a tree in the same park they filmed the music video. The title "Afternoons in the Park" was scribbled in a nice font on the left hand corner.

Spencer smiled proudly at Ashley as she watched her looking at the CD. "I'm going to buy a copy," she said taking it from Ashley's hands.

"You already have a copy," Ashley pointed out. "In fact, you have five."

"One more wouldn't hurt," Spencer said making her way to the cashier. "And Casey has ten, I need to catch up." The girl behind the counter had her back towards them. She seemed to be fumbling with the blenders and didn't even realize she had waiting customers. "Um, excuse me?" Spencer said politely.

"Just a second!" The girl barked at her.

"Excuse me? Is that how you talk to all your customers?" Ashley asked harshly. The girl whipped around and Spencer's jaw almost hit the floor.

"Kelly?"

Kelly look liked a deer in headlights for about a second before she recovered. "Spencer," she said in her usual smugness. "What a surprise." _Yeah, you can say that._ Spencer watched as Kelly looked over her shoulder and saw Casey and Sally still looking at the CD display. "I see you brought the whole herd."

Spencer tilted her head in amusement and she felt Ashley's protective hand on the small of her back. "Well, look at you. A Barista."

Kelly's face darkened. "Yeah, well I decided that film wasn't exactly my calling."

Spencer almost laughed. "Really? Because what I heard was that you were being sued by three of your clients? Something about not being able to keep your promises?" Spencer and Casey almost had a field day when they heard that Kelly's company was about to tank. Talk about karma being a bitch.

"Well, at least I didn't need my girlfriend to buy my company," she sniped.

Ashley was about to open her mouth when Spencer stopped her. "You know what Kelly? You're pathetic."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You spend so much of your time trying to bring me down that you don't even know that you caused your own downfall. You come into town, steal our clients because of some vendetta from college? Grow up!" Spencer told her.

Kelly looked like someone killed her puppy. "Well, what about you? You call me pathetic, you're pretty pathetic when you wouldn't let go of me when I dumped you," she knew it was pointless. Everything was at moot point.

Ashley once again tried to say something, but Spencer spoke up. "Yes, Kelly, I did fall for you and yes you did break my heart. But you know what?" She looked her straight in her eyes. "I got over it. I got over _you._ I grew up and learned from mistakes. Obviously, you haven't. Look at yourself, Kelly," she said with pity.

Kelly narrowed her eyes at her. "Kelly!" The manager called from the backroom. "Get over here." The manager turned to Spencer. "I'm sorry ma'am, someone will be with you shortly."

"It's no problem," Spencer watched as Kelly went to the backroom. _Good riddance._

Ashley wrapped her arms around her waist and put her chin on Spencer's shoulder. "I'm proud of you," she whispered in her ear.

Spencer smiled. "For what?"

"For not taking her shit and standing up for yourself. And you know, stopping me from punching her right in the face." She kissed her cheek.

"Well, if she says anything else, I give you permission to punch her. I'm so done with her." She leaned back in her embrace.

"You can't fire me! I quit!" Everyone in the store turned around to the sounds of someone yelling. Kelly stormed out of the backroom, took off her apron, and threw it over the counter. She stopped when she saw Spencer, Ashley, Casey, and Sally all looking at her. "You happy now?" she told Spencer and Casey. "You won." She then turned to Ashley and Sally. "I hope you two are happy with your little whores," Kelly spat.

Ashley and Sally immediately stood in front of Kelly's face. "What was that?" Ashley asked glaring at her. "I don't think Sally and I heard you correctly."

"Yeah, maybe we should go outside where there's not so many people," Sally suggested. Kelly cowered. The look Ashley and Sally had scared the crap out of her. "Yeah, let's go outside, Ashley." They both put their arms around Kelly's shoulders and led her outside.

"You think we should stop them?" Casey asked Spencer as they both watched their girlfriends lead Kelly out.

Spencer laughed. "Nah, Kelly deserves whatever Ashley and Sally are about to do. I have a feeling Kelly's going to need another nose job though."

"Aren't you scared they'd get in trouble?" Casey asked worried.

"Nope. I mean, not if there's no witnesses." Ashley and Sally came back inside looking very pleased with themselves. "What did you guys do?" Spencer asked while checking both their fists to see if they were bruised. They weren't.

Ashley pulled Spencer to her. "Let's just say that Kelly won't be bothering us anymore."

Sally also pulled Casey to her. "Yeah, we gave her a message and she got it loud and clear.

Spencer kissed Ashley. "Thank you."

"Just making up for lost times."

"Lost times?"

Ashley smiled at her shyly. "Yeah, all those times in high school I couldn't be there for you."

"You were always there for me," Spencer smiled at her and leaned in for a kiss.

_And you always will be._

---


	22. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

"Where are you taking me?"

"Seriously, Spence, you can keep asking but I'm still not going to tell you," Ashley answered.

Spencer pouted. "Can I at least take this blindfold off?"

"No! You'll ruin the surprise."

"Oh, come on. You know how stupid I must look being in your convertible with a blindfold on? Are people staring?" Spencer reached up for the blindfold but Ashley stopped her.

"Don't! Spence, come on, we're almost there. I promise no one is staring," Ashley assured her. It would've made Spencer feel better until she heard car honks. "Those honks weren't directed towards us," she lied.

"Ashley!" Spencer whined. "Where are you taking me?" She was starting to sound like a petulant child.

"We're almost there. Geez, don't get your panties in a twist."

Spencer grinned. "Who said anything about panties?" she teased. She gasped when she suddenly felt Ashley's hand on her thigh making its way up her skirt.

"Liar," Ashley announced once her hand found what it was looking for. Spencer took her hand and intertwined their fingers. She leaned back in the passenger seat and sighed.

Ashley had literally kidnapped her earlier during her lunch break. She didn't even have time to protest when Ashley tied a blindfold around her eyes and led her to her car. They've been driving for about 20 minutes now and Spencer was starting to get really impatient. She had no idea where Ashley was going to take her that was a surprise. At first she thought she had forgotten a special occasion but their one-year anniversary wasn't for another 5 days. It wasn't her birthday, and they didn't sign any big clients recently that would warrant a celebration. Normally, Spencer knew what kind of surprises Ashley set up for her but she was absolutely clueless on this one.

Her anticipation grew when she felt Ashley park the car. "Are we here?" she asked sitting up excited.

"Yes."

"Can I take this off now?"

"Not yet, I need to check on a few things first."

"Ashley!"

"Calm down, baby I'll be just a minute. Don't take this off," Ashley kissed her on the cheek and left the car. Spencer could hear her open the trunk and take a few things out. She was so tempted to have a peek but Ashley came back as fast as she left. "Okay, ready?" Ashley opened Spencer's door and led her out the car.

"Can I take it off?" Spencer took her steps slowly. _If I trip, she's coming with me._

"Hold on," Ashley took her hand and started leading her somewhere. "Okay take a step," she instructed.

Spencer did what she was told and the ground beneath her feet suddenly became soft. She was walking on grass. Ashley finally stopped and stood behind her. "Okay, ready?"

"Yes," she said excitedly.

Ashley removed the blindfold and Spencer gasped. Her jaw dropped as she took in her surroundings. "Oh my God, Ashley," she whispered emotionally. They were in the courtyard of King High School.

"Do you like it?" Ashley asked shyly.

Spencer felt the tears behind her eyes as she looked around. It looked exactly the same way it did when they were in high school. Ashley had set up a nice little picnic area right between the oak tree and the place where Spencer always sat. She turned around and gave Ashley a tearful kiss.

"I love it. I love you."

Ashley smiled and leaned her forehead against Spencer's. "Happy anniversary."

Spencer tilted her head. "But our anniversary isn't for another five days," she pointed out.

"I know, but it didn't fall on a Friday, And to make it perfect, I had to bring you here on a Friday," she explained.

Spencer's eyes filled with more tears. "You're perfect."

"Close to it," she teased and Spencer laughed. "I made us a picnic." She pulled Spencer down on the blanket and sat her between her legs. She reached over and opened the wicker basket and started pulling out the contents. "Two turkey sandwiches, brownies for dessert, and not to forget," she reached in further. "Two Orange Crushes."

"Oh my God, it's exactly like my lunch." She grabbed a bottle of soda and twisted it open.

"I actually asked your mom to make the brownies," Ashley said shyly.

Spencer turned neck and gave her a kiss. "You're too cute."

They enjoyed their little lunch and reminisced about their special Fridays. Spencer was deliriously happy as she sat back against Ashley. "Do they not have school today?" she asked now just noticing how quiet the campus was.

"Yeah, lucky for us, it's teacher conference day. Students get a three-day weekend and I get to spend a romantic afternoon with my girlfriend."

"Lucky us." _Very lucky us._

"Oh I almost forgot," Ashley reached under the blanket and pulled out a yearbook. "I believe, Ms. Carlin, you need to sign my yearbook."

Spencer grinned as she opened to that particular picture of Ashley she had taken. "What do you want me to write?"

"Anything you want." She handed Spencer a Sharpie marker.

Smiling, Spencer took the marker and wrote her little message. "There you go," she said handing the yearbook back to Ashley.

Ashley read it and smiled. "I love you, too Spencer Carlin." She kissed the side of her face. "Now, this wouldn't be a Spencer and Ashley Friday without this." Ashley got up and went behind the oak tree to retrieve her guitar. She sat right in front of it and beckoned Spencer over. Spencer complied and sat down across Ashley. "Do you any requests?"

Spencer smiled. "I think you know what song I want to hear."

"Of course, Euterpe." Ashley started strumming her guitar and the courtyard was filled with a familiar song. "Dream, dream, dream, dream. When I want you in my arms. When I want you and all your charms. Whenever I want you all I have to do is dream..."

_And you're my dream come true._

_--End--_

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**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my fic. I really appreciated it. :D This story has been completed for a while now so that's why the updates came very quickly. Haha, I really can't write that fast. **

**I do have another COMPLETED chapter length Spencer/Ashley fic that I will start posting tomorrow. So stay tuned. :D  
**


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